Department for Transport

Driving: Diabetes

Anne Marie Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will include representatives from (a) the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence, (b) the Department of Health and Social Care and (c) NHS England on his Honorary Medical Advisory Panel on driving and diabetes mellitus; and what steps he has taken to ensure that the Panel routinely seeks advice from those bodies

Jesse Norman: The membership of the panel is kept under review to ensure that it is fully represented by members with a wide range of skills and expertise in Diabetes Mellitus. The panel routinely uses the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence guidelines to help inform the medical standards of fitness to drive and often invites guest speakers and representatives from other medical organisations to obtain more information on a specific topic.

Driving: Diabetes

Anne Marie Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of transferring responsibility for (a) the setting of standards for drivers with diabetes mellitus and (b) the operation of the Honorary Medical Advisory Panel on driving and diabetes mellitus to the Department of Health and Social Care.

Jesse Norman: There are no plans to transfer the operation of the Medical Advisory Panel on driving and diabetes, or any of the other medical panels for driving, to the Department of Health and Social Care. The Department for Transport sets the medical standards for drivers, and the Panel considers the effects of this and other conditions on road safety, in order to ensure that motorists are licensed appropriately.

Motorways: Accidents

Sir Mike Penning: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what comparative assessment his Department has made of the prevalence of traffic incident’s on all-lane running motorways and motorways with hard-shoulders; and will he make a statement.

Jesse Norman: Highway England have studied the first two completed All Lane Running schemes on the M25 where the hard shoulder was permanently converted to a running lane. These reviews found that the schemes have delivered an overall 27% safety improvement. Highways England have always been clear that the benefits of smart motorways will not be delivered at the expense of safety and each smart motorway scheme must meet a strict safety objective, which is to be at least as safe as before the smart motorway was introduced.

Road Traffic Offences: Motorways

Sir Mike Penning: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what (a) research and (b) assessment his Department has undertaken into trends in the level of non-compliance on Smart Motorways.

Jesse Norman: Highways England published three-year monitoring reports for the M25 junctions 5-7 and 23-27 All Lane Running schemes on 16th July 2018, which included compliance information. They indicate an overall improvement in the red-X compliance rate on both schemes between the three-year and one-year reports. The majority of drivers obey red-X signals. Highways England continue to work closely with the Police to issue warning letters to drivers who fail to comply with a red-X, as well as running a range of driver information campaigns.

Road Traffic Offences: Motorways

Sir Mike Penning: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether his Department has set a minimum acceptable level red-X non-compliance on smart motorways.

Jesse Norman: There is no acceptable level of red-X non-compliance and Highways England are working to reduce non-compliance to as low a level as possible.In partnership with the Police, Highways England have issued over 160,000 formal warning letters across different Smart Motorway locations to drivers identified as wrongly using the hard shoulder or contravening red-X signals. Their judgement is that these letters are having a positive effect, with repeat offences declining significantly.

Railways: Concessions

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of introducing a free railcard for people over the age of 65.

Andrew Jones: A senior railcard is already offered for those aged 60 and above. The card offers one third off standard and first class anytime, off-peak and advance fares. The cost associated with the railcard is very low compared to the discount savings achieved by regular users.

Railways: Standards

Kate Hollern: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what progress has been on refunding passengers as a result of the train delays and cancellations in 2018.

Andrew Jones: Under a special compensation scheme, paid for by the rail industry, following the disruption last summer, over 14,000 claims from season ticket holders and regular travellers on Northern and TransPennine Express services have now been submitted and over £1million paid out in compensation. Northern introduced Delay Repay 15 (DR15) in December 2018. DR15 entitles passengers who have been delayed by 15-29 minutes to compensation worth 25% of the single fare. This is in addition to the existing Delay Repay 30 arrangements. Data published by the Department in October 2018 show that, in the past two years the total amount of compensation paid to passengers increased by 80%, as Government encouraged train operators to better publicise passengers’ rights.

Speed Limits

Ellie Reeves: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the effect of local authorities enforcing 20mph zones in built-up areas on the level of pedestrians involved in traffic accidents.

Jesse Norman: The Department has not carried out a study on the effect of speed enforcement in 20mph zones (which have traffic calming measures such as chicanes and speed humps) or on 20mph limits (which have signs only). DfT guidance recommends that successful 20 mph zones and 20 mph speed limits are mutually reinforcing, i.e. the existing conditions of the road together with measures such as traffic calming or signing, publicity and information as part of the scheme, lead to a mean traffic speed compliant with the speed limit. Within this approach, to achieve compliance there should be no expectation on the police to provide additional enforcement beyond their routine activity, unless this has been explicitly agreed with the local traffic authority.

Roads: Accidents

Ellie Reeves: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps he is taking to encourage local authorities to issue public safety campaigns to reduce the number of pedestrians involved in traffic accidents.

Jesse Norman: The Road Traffic Act 1988 gives local authorities the responsibility for carrying out a programme of road safety and to take preventative measures including dissemination of information such as public education campaigns. The Government wants to see roads which are safe and which meet the needs of all users, including vulnerable road users such as pedestrians. The Government encourages local authorities, schools and the public to use its THINK! road safety educational campaigns and resources, which cover a wide range of issues. These campaigns encourage safer behaviours, so as to reduce the number of people killed and injured.

Roads: Accidents

Ellie Reeves: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many serious road traffic accidents there were in (a) the UK, (b) London, (c) Borough of Lewisham and (d) Borough of Bromley in each of the last 10 years.

Jesse Norman: The table below provides the number of serious reported personal injury road accidents in Great Britain, London, Borough of Lewisham and Borough of Bromley between 2007 and 2017. Please note that the number of serious accidents provided is as reported by the police. Since 2016, changes in severity reporting systems for a large number of police forces mean that serious injury figures are not comparable with earlier years. In particular figures for London in 2017, and to a lesser extent 2016, are impacted by the Metropolitan Police Service changing system in November 2016.   Serious reported road accidents, 2007 to 2017 YearGreat BritainLondonBorough of LewishamBorough of Bromley200724,3223,268111121200823,1213,061106104200921,9972,82899107201020,4402,62710080201120,9862,5509969201220,9012,7939678201319,6242,1125761201420,6761,9795646201520,0381,8825064201621,7252,2916380201722,5343,622110102Source: DfT STATS19The data we hold only covers reported personal injury road accidents in Great Britain, we do not have data for Northern Ireland.

Roads: Safety

Ellie Reeves: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what plans he has to increase road safety nationally.

Jesse Norman: The Department is currently taking forward a number of road safety measures in accordance with its publicly stated road safety priorities, through the Road Safety Statement. In June last year, the Department issued a written statement to Parliament which included a progress report on the actions from that statement. Full details are available on the www.gov.uk website.(https://www.gov.uk/government/speeches/road-safety-recent-progress-and-future-work) The Department intends to publish a refreshed road safety statement and a two-year road safety action plan later this year.

Channel Ferries: Freight

Andy McDonald: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant the Answer of 16 January 2019 to Question 206828 on Channel Ferries: freight, whether essential (a) food supplies and (b) medicines will be prioritised through those ports by the Government in the event of the UK leaving the EU without a deal; and on what basis ferry ports will be prioritised.

Chris Grayling: The additional ferry capacity Government has secured utilises the ports of Plymouth, Poole, Portsmouth, Ramsgate, Felixstowe and Immingham. This Government-secured ferry capacity will be used for the import of critical goods, primarily medicines and medical supplies. There is no proposal to prioritise between ferry ports.

Wales and Borders Rail Franchise

Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, for what reason it was decided to give responsibility for the Wales and Borders rail franchise to the Welsh Government.

Andrew Jones: The management of the Wales & Borders franchise has been devolved to the Welsh Government (and its predecessor the Welsh Assembly Government) since April 2006. In 2018, those devolution arrangements were further strengthened in line with one of the recommendations of the Commission on Devolution in Wales (‘the Silk Commission’). In particular, the Welsh Government additionally took over responsibility for letting new Wales & Borders franchises from the Department for Transport.

Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

Maternity Leave

Vicky Foxcroft: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how many employed mothers of babies who were admitted to neonatal care used their full 52 weeks of maternity leave entitlement in each of the last five years.

Kelly Tolhurst: The Government does not routinely collect data on the length of maternity leave taken by employed mothers of babies who were admitted to neonatal care. The most recent data on the length of maternity leave taken by all mothers is from the Maternity and Paternity Rights Survey in 2009, which collected data from parents of children born in 2008 across Great Britain.This shows that in 2008, 23% of all employed mothers took 52 weeks of Statutory Maternity Leave or more (e.g. by taking annual leave in addition).We are currently undertaking a new survey of parents which will provide updated information on family-related leave and pay entitlements, including the length of Maternity Leave taken by mothers in general. Mothers who gave birth prematurely or whose babies were admitted to neonatal care are within the scope of this survey, but it may not be possible to identify them, nor to draw conclusions given that they will represent only a small number of respondents.

Fathers: Employment

Vicky Foxcroft: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps his Department is taking to support working fathers whose babies have been admitted to neonatal units.

Kelly Tolhurst: Employed fathers have a number of workplace employment rights which can be used to help care for their children or to support the other parent, subject to meeting qualifying conditions. These include Paternity Leave and Pay, Shared Parental Leave and Pay, Unpaid Parental Leave and time off for dependants. Where a child is born prematurely, fathers have the flexibility to take Paternity Leave and Pay within 8 weeks of the expected date of birth rather than within 8 weeks of the actual birth.The Government is sympathetic towards the traumatic experiences of parents whose babies have been admitted to neonatal care units. This is why officials in the Department are currently conducting an informal review of the provisions available to parents or premature and sick babies and those experiencing multiple births, as part of the evaluation of Shared Parental Leave.

Electronic Tagging: Testing

Marion Fellows: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, if he will bring forward legislative proposals on the testing of microchips intended for implantation in humans.

Kelly Tolhurst: Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Foreign and Commonwealth Office

Israel: West Bank

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent representations he has made to the Israeli Government on that country's decision to approve the construction of 2,800 units in the occupied West Bank.

Alistair Burt: As I made clear in my statement of 27 December we are disappointed that Israel plans to expropriate additional West Bank territory by pressing forward with plans to construct 2,800 units. We regularly call on Israel to halt such counterproductive activity and instead urgently commit to creating a better environment for a just and lasting peace. Such settlements are illegal under international law and undermine the physical viability of the two-state solution.

Tanzania: Press Freedom

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment he has made of restrictions on media freedom in Tanzania; and what representations he has made to the Government of Tanzania on that subject.

Harriett Baldwin: Over recent years, we have noted a shrinking of public space in Tanzania through increased restrictions on the activities of civil society organisations, political parties and the media. Respect for human rights and the rule of law have been repeatedly undermined. We have made our concerns about this known to the Government of Tanzania at both Ministerial and official level. The UK is fully committed to the promotion of media freedom and the protection of journalists. The Foreign Secretary announced on 31 October 2018 the launch of an international campaign on media freedom and that the UK will host an International Conference aimed at promoting the value and benefits of a free media and to mobilise an international consensus on the protection of journalists as the guardians of our freedoms.

Catalonia: Sovereignty

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment he has made of the constitutional crisis in Catalonia; and what representations  he has made and to whom on that subject.

Sir Alan Duncan: The Government has been clear that the situation in Catalonia is a matter for Spain. The UK strongly supports the rule of law and remains clear that questions related to the issue of Catalan independence should be resolved within the proper constitutional and legal channels. The Prime Minister, the Foreign Secretary and I, in our interactions with Spanish counterparts, have made this position clear.

Tanzania: Christianity

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent representations he has received on the persecution of Christians in Tanzania; and if he will make a statement.

Harriett Baldwin: ​The promotion and protection of the right to freedom of religion or belief is a priority for the UK. We regard freedom of thought, conscience or belief as a fundamental human right. Our officials in Tanzania engage with civil society organisations, religious groups and the Tanzanian Government to promote tolerance and trust across communities. We have received no recent representations on the persecution of Christians.

Middle East: Christianity

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent representations he has received on the persecution of Christians in the Middle East; and if he will make a statement.

Alistair Burt: ​The Foreign Secretary and Lord Ahmad have had a number of recent engagements with religious leaders, interested organisations and parliamentarians on the question of the persecution of Christians around the world, including in the Middle East. The Foreign Secretary has requested that the Bishop of Truro leads a review of British Government support for persecuted Christians. I regularly raise the issues being faced by Christians and other religious minorities during my meetings with governments in the Middle East and North Africa. The UK remains committed to supporting the fundamental human right of all persons to practice, change or share their faith or belief without discrimination or violent opposition.

Yemen: Peace Negotiations

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assurances he has sought from the US Administration on their commitment to resolving the conflict in Yemen.

Alistair Burt: We are in regular contact diplomatically and at Ministerial level with the United States, to ensure we follow the best opportunities for an end to the conflict in Yemen. On 16 January, the UN Security Council, including the US, voted unanimously to back the UK-led Security Council Resolution 2452, which will establish a six month UN mission to monitor the Hodeidah ceasefire. This is an important step towards peace, building on the momentum of the unanimously adopted UK-led Security Council Resolution 2451 as well as the UN peace talks in Stockholm last month. We regularly discuss with our partners at the UN, including the US, how best we can support the implementation of these agreements to ensure that the Yemen peace agreements endure, though this is by no means guaranteed.

Yemen: Peace Negotiations

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what support the UK is providing to the process of UN monitoring in the port of Hudaydah in Yemen.

Alistair Burt: On 22 January the Foreign Secretary announced an additional £2.5 million in funding to bolster the Yemeni peace process, including operations in Hodeidah city and port. This will complement UK diplomatic support for the UN, including through UK-led Security Council Resolutions 2451 and 2452, which build on the momentum generated by UN peace talks in Stockholm in December. We continue to discuss with the UN what further support the UK could provide as UN planning develops. It is important that all parties take steps to implement the Hodeidah Agreement in accordance with the UN Redeployment Coordination Committee and ensure unhindered access to food, medical and commercial supplies through the port of Hodeidah.

Yemen: Peace Negotiations

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps the Government is taking to help ensure that the Yemen peace agreements will endure.

Alistair Burt: The UK stands ready to support the UN on the implementation of the agreements reached between parties. On 16 January, the UN Security Council voted unanimously to back the UK-led Security Council Resolution 2452, which will establish a six month UN mission to monitor the Hodeidah ceasefire. This is an important step towards peace, building on the momentum of the unanimously adopted UK-led Security Council Resolution 2451 as well as the UN peace talks in Stockholm last month. We regularly discuss with our partners at the UN how best we can support the implementation of these agreements to ensure that the Yemen peace agreements endure, though this is by no means guaranteed.

Bangladesh: Elections

Mrs Anne Main: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, how many independent election observers (a) his Department and (b) other nations provided for the general election in Bangladesh; and what assessment he has made of the legitimacy of that election.

Mark Field: ​In partnership with USAID and the Swiss Development Cooperation, the Department for International Development supported a total of 4542 domestic observers deployed during the Bangladesh Election. The EU sent a two person Election Expert Mission. The Government of Bangladesh refused permission for deployment of 9300 observers from 15 NGOs. On 1 January I released a statement expressing my concern about the conduct of the Bangladesh general election. There have been numerous credible allegations of irregularities, blocks on proper observation and the intimidation of voters. I repeated my concerns regarding the election to the Bangladesh High Commissioner when we met on 10 January. I have urged the Government of Bangladesh to carry out a full, credible and transparent resolution of all complaints related to the conduct of the elections.

India: Rohingya

Richard Burden: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent representations he has made to the government of India on non-refoulement of Rohingya refugees.

Mark Field: ​The former Foreign Secretary raised the plight of Rohingya refugees with his Indian counterpart, the Minister for External Affairs in February 2018. Senior officials at the British High Commission in New Delhi continue to raise the Rohingya with the Indian Ministry for External Affairs, most recently in November 2018. We will continue to raise the issue of the Rohingya and call on India to support safe, voluntary and dignified returns, which respect the rights of Rohingya refugees.

Cabinet Office

Interserve

Jon Trickett: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 3 December 2018 to Question 196094, whether Interserve has submitted its living will.

Oliver Dowden: Suppliers including Serco, Capita, Sopra Steria, Engie and Interserve have volunteered to pilot the use of “living wills”. We have been working with them over recent weeks and will reflect the results of this pilot as we deploy “living wills” across all suppliers providing critical services. Interserve is amongst the suppliers who have provided the information requested.

GCHQ: Staff

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what estimate his Department has made of the number of (a) males and (b) females working for GCHQ in each year since 2010.

Mr David Lidington: As at 31 March 2018, the GCHQ headcount is made up of 35% Women and 65% Men. These figures have remained constant since 2010. Further detail can be found in the recently published document “GCHQ Gender Pay Gap Report 2018”.

Huawei: Infrastructure

Jo Platt: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, on what dates he has held discussions with the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport on the role of Huawei in the UK's Critical National Infrastructure.

Mr David Lidington: I receive regular updates from the National Cyber Security Centre on the security of the UK’s Critical National Infrastructure and hold regular discussions with other Ministers on these matters. The Huawei Cyber Security Evaluation Centre (HCSEC) operates under a set of arrangements between Huawei and Government to mitigate any potential risks arising from the involvement of Huawei in parts of the UK’s critical national infrastructure. The latest findings and recommendations from HCSEC can be found in their 2018 Oversight Board report: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/huawei-cyber-security-evaluation-centre-oversight-board-annual-report-2018

Politics and Government: Communication

Jon Trickett: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether it has plans to publish its document entitled The role of communication in rebuilding political trust.

Chloe Smith: I refer the honourable member to the answer I gave to the honourable member for Leigh on 22 January 2019 to Question 209900. https://wqa.parliament.uk/Questions/Details/85911

Natural Gas: Kazakhstan

Jon Trickett: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether his Department plans to publish information on project Santiago.

Oliver Dowden: Project Santiago refers to a Cabinet Office team that is delivering on the announcements made by the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster in his speech to Reform on 25 June 2018 and to the Business Services Association on 19 November 2018. We will make further announcements on this package of reforms to outsourcing in due course.

Public Procurement Review Service: Civil Servants

Jon Trickett: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many civil servants have been employed in the Public Procurement Review Service in each year since its inception.

Oliver Dowden: The requested information is in the table below. Not all staff are employed in the Public Procurement Review Service are full-time workers. Staffing numbers are kept under review.  Calendar YearTotal Number of Civil Servants working in the Public Procurement Review Service (previously Mystery Shopper) team2019 (Year to Date)52018520175201652015620146201352012520114

British Irish Council

Mr Gregory Campbell: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 17 January 2019 to Question 205837 on British-Irish Council, what that agreed date is for the next Summit of the British-Irish Council.

Mr David Lidington: For security reasons, dates of future Summits are embargoed until the day of the event.

Department of Health and Social Care

Mental Health Services: Expenditure

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what plans his Department has to restore regular reporting of mental health spend to the NHS Dashboard.

Jackie Doyle-Price: The Mental Health Five Year Forward View Dashboard is currently published on a quarterly basis, with spend data included in Quarter 1 and Quarter 4 updates. While NHS England recognises the value of ensuring that this is published as regularly as possible, the detail contained within the dashboard requires rigorous assurance and review to allow complete confidence in the data that is published and, as a result, intervals between each iteration may vary.

Mental Health

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to his speech at the Charity Commission's annual meeting on 7 January 2017, The shared society, what steps the Government has taken to reduce mental health stigma since July 2016.

Jackie Doyle-Price: This Government is committed to eliminating the stigma around mental health. We provide funding to the Time to Change national mental health anti-stigma campaign to improve social attitudes about mental health. Evaluation of the campaign has shown that over four million people have to date reported improved attitudes towards mental health as a result of the campaign. The Government has also committed to equip one million people to be better able to look after their own mental health, so Public Health England is currently leading the development of a £15 million national mental health campaign called ‘Every Mind Matters’. The first pilot of interventions began in October 2018 in the Midlands ahead of a national launch this year. The Government announced the first Suicide Prevention Minister in the United Kingdom in October 2018, working across national and local government to tackle the stigma around suicide and encouraging people to talk openly about their mental health and wellbeing. Through the Cross-Government Suicide Prevention Strategy we work with many suicide prevention organisations which work to challenge stigma.

Blood: Contamination

Paul Girvan: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will urgently introduce regional parity of financial support for victims of the infected blood scandal.

Paul Girvan: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care,whether it is his policy that the responsibility for the delivery of compensation to victims of the infected blood scandal lies with his Department due to that scandal having occurred prior to the establishment of devolved departments of health.

Jackie Doyle-Price: Policy on financial support for people infected by HIV and/or hepatitis C after treatment with blood, tissue or blood products from the National Health Service is a devolved matter. An Infected Blood Payment Scheme for Northern Ireland was established in November 2017. Information on the Department of Health in Northern Ireland’s scheme is available at the following link: https://www.nidirect.gov.uk/articles/infected-blood-payment-scheme

Heart Diseases: Females

Tom Brake: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what funding his Department has allocated to support research into heart attacks in women; and for what reason that research was not included in the Government’s NHS Long-Term Plan.

Caroline Dinenage: The Department funds research on health and social care through the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR). NIHR welcomes funding applications for research into any aspect of human health, including heart attacks in women. It is not usual practice to ring-fence funds for particular topics or conditions. There have been 28 studies directly funded by the NIHR relating to heart attacks (myocardial infarction) in the last five financial years, from 2013/14 to 2017/18, all with female participants, including a randomised controlled trial investigating the prevention of cardiac toxicity in breast cancer patients. Additionally, over the same period, there has been support through NIHR Clinical Research Networks for 23 studies investigating heart attacks all of which included female participants, with a total expenditure of £1.9 million. The British Women’s Heart and Health Study, which commenced in 2009, was directly funded by the NIHR and specifically looked at heart disease in women. Preventing and managing cardiovascular disease (CVD) is a priority for NHS England, as indicated by the inclusion of CVD in the NHS Long Term Plan. CVD prevention is also a key theme in NHS England’s Five Year Forward View and their NHS RightCare programme. NHS RightCare launched the Cardiovascular Disease Prevention Optimal Value Pathway in 2016. The NHS Long Term Plan also sets out how we will ensure that patients continue to benefit from high quality research and innovation with a commitment that the National Health Service will play its full part in delivering the Life Sciences sector deal and work to increase the number of people registering to participate in health research to one million by 2023/24.

Drugs: Prices

Anne Marie Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the potential financial implications to the NHS of the reported practice of pharmaceutical companies dropping the brand name of out of patent products, relaunching those products under generic names and selling such products at a higher price.

Steve Brine: No such assessment has been made. The Department understands financial implications to the National Health Service where it has been proven that companies have overcharged the NHS and, as part of that process, it has been established what the price under normal competitive circumstances would have been.

Drugs: Prices

Anne Marie Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 12 October 2018 to Question 178508 on Drugs: Prices, for what reasons (a) the consultation on a new system of commissioning for special medicinal products has not begun and (b) unwarranted prices of unbranded generic medicines continues 18 months after the passing of the Health Service Medical Supplies (Costs) Act 2017.

Steve Brine: The Department has been engaging informally with pharmacy and industry representative bodies about potential changes to the procurement and reimbursement arrangements for specials not listed with a price in the Drug Tariff. Since the Health Service Products (Provision and Disclosure of Information) Regulations 2018 were introduced in July 2018, the Department obtains data from more suppliers and on more specials. This enables the Department to include more specials with a price in the Drug Tariff and reduce the number of specials that the new arrangements would need to cover. Further consideration is being given, following the informal engagement, to potential solutions to address the spend on specials not listed with a price in the Drug Tariff before the formal consultation is started. Since the Health Service Medical Supplies (Costs) Act 2017 entered into force, the Department has continued its work with the Competition and Markets Authority on the cases they are taking forward and has published the Health Service Products (Provision and Disclosure of Information) Regulations 2018 that support its price setting powers. The Department has engaged informally with industry representative bodies about its proposals and is preparing a formal consultation.

Clinical Commissioning Groups: Finance

Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to Clinical Commissioning Group place based allocations 2019/20 – 2023/24, what the real-term percentage increase in allocation from the 2018-19 adjusted baseline allocation to the 2023-24 final allocation for (a) England (b) each region of England is; and if he will make a statement.

Stephen Hammond: NHS England sets clinical commissioning group (CCG) allocations. The real-term percentage increase in CCG place based allocations from the 2018/19 adjusted baseline allocation to the 2023/24 final allocation for England and each National Health Service commissioning region of England is shown in the following table. To ensure comparability of real terms growth rates between regions with differing levels of population growth the increase is shown on a per registered head basis:NHS Commissioning Region2018-19 adjusted baseline2023-24 final allocation (2018/19 prices)2018-19 allocation per registered head2023-24 allocation per registered head (2018/19 prices)% change 2018-19 to 2023-24£000£000££%North East and Yorkshire15,620,06117,699,4221,7481,95411.8%North West13,565,13915,473,5891,8252,04412.0%Midlands17,976,07120,854,5151,6311,84012.8%East of England10,805,12212,554,7101,5851,77812.2%London16,125,15118,708,4551,6351,82211.4%South East14,713,84316,971,2341,5921,78312.0%South West9,444,42310,963,2511,6371,84112.4%England98,249,809113,225,1761,6631,86312.0% Note: All figures reflect total ‘place-based’ CCG allocations, and include other funding outside of pace of change.

Preventive Medicine: Finance

Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the NHS Long Term Plan, how much funding has been allocated to specific new evidence-based NHS prevention programmes to (a) cut smoking, (b) reduce obesity,(c) the NHS Diabetes Prevention Programme, (d) limit alcohol related A&E admissions, (e) lower air pollution, and (f) in total; and whether that funding is (i) included and (ii) in addition to his Department’s public health grant to local authorities; and if he will make a statement.

Steve Brine: Following the publication of the NHS Long Term Plan, the National Implementation Framework, to be published in the spring, will provide further information on how the Long Term Plan will be implemented. Additional details, based on local health system five year plans, will be brought together in a detailed national implementation plan in the autumn. The specific National Health Service-led prevention programmes set out in the Long Term Plan will be funded from within the NHS settlement. This funding will be in addition to the public health grant to local authorities.

Hospitals: Waiting Lists

Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the NHS Long-Term Plan, whether it remains his policy to meet the 92 per cent  referral to treatment waiting time target in 2019-20.

Stephen Hammond: Under the Long Term Plan, the local National Health Service is being allocated sufficient funds over the next five years to grow the amount of planned surgery year on year, to cut long waits, and reduce waiting lists. In parallel, NHS England are carrying out a clinical review of standards, which is due to report in the spring. This review will help to ensure that the NHS is focused on the right targets - for both physical and mental health - which incentivise the best care and outcomes for patients, and have the broad support of our health professionals. In the shorter term, NHS England’s ‘Operational and Planning Guidance for 2019/20’ sets out deliverables against key performance areas, including referral-to-treatment, and the Government expects the NHS to deliver these actions set – in full – as key steps towards fully recovering performance against core access standards.

Baby Care Units

Vicky Foxcroft: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 18 December 2018 to Question 201219 and with reference to the finding of Sands' Audit of Bereavement Care Provision in UK Neonatal Units 2018 that 12 per cent of neonatal units provide mandatory bereavement staff training, what steps his Department is taking to ensure neonatal units meet the Toolkit for High Quality Neonatal Services standard that all staff have bereavement training.

Jackie Doyle-Price: The Toolkit for High Quality Neonatal Services sets out that all staff should have training appropriate to their role in supporting families during bereavement; that each unit has a bereavement lead; and that parents are given written information about bereavement services where relevant. NHS England is currently undertaking a review of specialised neonatal services in order to improve quality of care and ensure there is sufficient capacity for the future. It will specifically consider the National Bereavement Care Pathway (NBCP), referenced in the Audit of Bereavement Care Provision in UK Neonatal Units 2018, which sets out a comprehensive framework for bereavement support across five stages of pregnancy and baby loss, including neonatal death. Like the Toolkit for High Quality Neonatal Services, the NBCP recommends that bereavement care training is provided to all staff who come into contact with bereaved parents. All bereaved parents, following baby loss, should be offered the same high standard of care and support in an appropriate environment. That is why the Government recently announced over £100,000 of funding for Sands, the Stillbirth and Neonatal Death charity, to continue the roll-out of the NBCP for 2018/19. This builds upon £50,000 of start-up funding and is in response to the great strides the project is making.

Cystic Fibrosis

Bill Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to support people with cystic fibrosis.

Steve Brine: Specialised services for the support and treatment of patients with cystic fibrosis (CF) are commissioned by NHS England. CF services are delivered in about 20 Paediatric Cystic Fibrosis Centres and about 20 Adult Cystic Fibrosis Centres. There are separate service specifications for adults and children. These specifications are important in clearly defining what NHS England expects to be in place for providers to offer evidence-based, safe and effective care and they support equity of access to a nationally consistent, high quality service. The specifications can be found via the following links: www.england.nhs.uk/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/Cystic-fibrosis-adult.pdf www.england.nhs.uk/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/a01Sb-spec-cystic-fibrosis-child.pdf In October 2017, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence published new guidance for the diagnosis and management of CF. This includes specific details on how to monitor the condition and manage the symptoms to improve quality of life. This guidance can be found via the following link:www.nice.org.uk/guidance/ng78#

Smoking

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to support local stop smoking services which encourage smokers to transition to vaping.

Steve Brine: Public Health England (PHE) recommends that all local stop smoking services in England should offer support to smokers who want to use an e-cigarette to stop smoking. PHE commissions the National Centre for Smoking Cessation and Training to produce free online training for healthcare professionals, a briefing for services and a guide for services on working with e-cigarette retailers. These materials are available to view at the following link: http://www.ncsct.co.uk/ The PHE ‘E-cigarettes and heated tobacco products: evidence review’ can be viewed at the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/e-cigarettes-and-heated-tobacco-products-evidence-review

Breast Cancer: Nurses

Karen Lee: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of the provision of dedicated Clinical Nurse Specialists for patients with secondary breast cancer.

Steve Brine: The NHS Cancer Programme aims to improve access to cancer Clinical Nurse Specialists (CNS) for all cancer patients when they need it, including those with secondary breast cancer. Health Education England is also working to expand the number of CNS and develop clear CNS competencies and routes into training.

Vaccination

Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he plans to increase the level of immunisation performed by the NHS.

Steve Brine: Vaccinations are a key part of the prevention strategy in the NHS Long Term Plan. To help increase immunisation uptake, NHS England will undertake a fundamental review of general practitioner vaccinations and immunisation standards, funding, and procurement. This will support the goal of improving immunisation coverage, using local coordinators to target variation and improve groups and areas with low vaccines uptake. By 2022, technology will better support clinicians. The Long Term Plan states that an integrated child protection system will replace many legacy systems, to help deliver a screening and vaccination solution that is worthy of the NHS's world leading services. Prevention is at the heart of the NHS Long Term Plan, which is backed by a £20.5 billion per year increase in funding for the NHS in England by 2023/24. Immunisation is a key preventative measure and the Long Term Plan commits to prioritising improvements in childhood immunisation and immunisation uptake.

NHS: Training

Julie Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to ensure that people with (a) learning disabilities and (b) autism are included in the development of mandatory disability and equality training for NHS staff.

Julie Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what topics will be included in the mandatory training on learning disability and autism for NHS Staff.

Caroline Dinenage: We will shortly consult on proposals for mandatory learning disability and autism training to ensure that staff working in health and social care understand the needs of people with learning disabilities and autism and have the skills to provide them with the most effective care and support. The consultation will consider the role of people with a learning disability or autism in the development and deployment of training as they can bring a unique and valuable perspective as users of health and care services. It will also consider the content of training and the knowledge and skills which are fundamental to providing effective support to people with learning disabilities or autism.

Health Services: Learning Disability

Julie Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to ensure services funded by the NHS uphold national learning disability improvement standards; and if he will introduce a monitoring system to ensure compliance with those standards.

Julie Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what oversight will be given to services funded by the NHS in relation to the implementation of national learning disability improvement standards.

Caroline Dinenage: The NHS Long Term Plan outlines the expectation that all National Health Service funded care providers in England should have implemented the learning disability improvement standards by 2023/24. Inclusion of the improvement standards in the NHS Standard Contract 2019/20, mandated by NHS England for use by commissioners of all healthcare services except primary care, means that all providers must have regard to the improvement standards and associated guidance. To monitor and ensure compliance with the improvement standards, NHS Improvement has commissioned the NHS Benchmarking Network to facilitate national data collection across all NHS trusts, including NHS community trusts and NHS ambulance trusts.

Naproxen

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that patients who are prescribed Naproxen continue to be able to receive that medication in the event of (a) the UK leaving the EU on 29 March 2019 and (b) the UK leaving the EU without a deal.

Stephen Hammond: The Government is working to ensure that patients can expect the same continuity of supply of medicines that they currently experience as a member of the European Union after we leave. Therefore, as a responsible Government, we continue to prepare for all scenarios including leaving without any deal. We understand that Naproxen is vitally important to many people in this country. Our contingency plans include sensible mitigations for medicines that come to the United Kingdom from or via the EU. We have received very good engagement from industry who share our aims of ensuring continuity of medicines supply for patients is maintained, and that companies are able to cope with any potential delays at the border that may arise in the short term in the event of a ‘no deal’ EU exit. In August 2018, the Department wrote to pharmaceutical companies asking them to stockpile six weeks additional supply of all prescription-only and pharmacy medicines which enter the UK from, or via, the EU or European Economic Area (EEA) over and above their business as usual stocks by 29 March 2019, to ensure that the supply of all medicines to patients, including Naproxen, is not disrupted. Additionally, in December 2018, we wrote to all pharmaceutical companies that supply prescription-only medicines and pharmacy medicines to the UK that come from, or via, the EU or EEA, as well as UK manufacturers of medicines currently using the short-Straits crossings into Dover and Folkestone, to inform them of the Government’s updated reasonable worst-case scenario border disruption planning assumptions. We will continue to work closely with these companies in order to ensure continuity of supply of all medicines to patients is maintained.

Genito-urinary Medicine

Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the NHS Long Term Plan, what evidence the Government plans to review when considering whether there is a stronger role for the NHS in commissioning sexual health services.

Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the commitment in the NHS Long-Term Plan’s to consider the potential for a stronger role for the NHS in commissioning sexual health services whether (a) reproductive health services and (b) contraception will fall within the scope of that process.

Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the commitment in the NHS Long Term Plan to consider the potential for a stronger role for the NHS in commissioning sexual health services, what the timeframe is for the (a) consultation on and (b) implementation of proposals for the commissioning of those services.

Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the commitment in the NHS Long Term Plan to consider the potential for a stronger role for the NHS in commissioning sexual health services, which (a) organisations and (b) expert bodies he plans to consult.

Steve Brine: Responsibility for commissioning some sexual health services, including contraception, transferred from the NHS to local authorities in England in 2013. The Government recognises and appreciates the excellent work that authorities have done since then but after six years it is prudent to take stock of whether the system is delivering as effectively as it needs to in providing integrated services. We will work with stakeholders to make sure we take relevant evidence into account before reaching any conclusions. We will publish the outcome of our considerations later this year and consult as necessary on specific proposals for change.

Dementia

Debbie Abrahams: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the NHS England Long Term Plan, how NHS England plans to continue working closely with (a) the Alzheimer’s Society and (b) other voluntary sector organisations to extend the society's Dementia Connect programme which offers a range of advice and support for people following a dementia diagnosis.

Debbie Abrahams: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the NHS England Long Term Plan, what discussions he has had with NHS England on how it plans to support the Dementia Connect programme which offers a range of advice and support for people following a dementia diagnosis.

Caroline Dinenage: Following the publication of the NHS Long Term Plan, the National Implementation Framework, to be published in the spring, will provide further information on how the Long Term Plan will be implemented. Additional details, based on local health system five year plans, will be brought together in a detailed national implementation plan. We will continue to work closely with key partners and stakeholders, including the Alzheimer’s Society and other voluntary sector partners, as we support the National Health Service to deliver the commitments set out in the Long Term Plan.

Mental Capacity (Amendment) Bill (HL)

Dr Lisa Cameron: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make an assessment of the compatibility of the Mental Capacity Act (Amendment) Bill with the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.

Caroline Dinenage: The Mental Capacity (Amendment) Bill will replace the current ‘Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards’ system for protecting people who are deprived of their liberty in England and Wales with a new more robust, efficient and streamlined system, the Liberty Protection Safeguards. The current system has left over 125,000 people without access to protections they are entitled to. The more efficient Liberty Protection Safeguards system will allow people to access the protections they are entitled to more quickly and will therefore be beneficial to many vulnerable people including disabled people. The Department published its’ equality impact assessment for the Bill in December 2018. That assessment outlines that people with a disability, as defined in the Equality Act 2010 will as a group, benefit from these reforms. The United Kingdom Government supported the development of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD) and was one of the first countries to sign it. The Bill is considered to be in line with the principles of the UNCPRD. Supported decision making is already a principle of the Mental Capacity Act, and this remains the case if the Bill is passed. The Bill also supports respecting a person’s inherent dignity, in line with Article 3 of the UNCRPD, by putting a person’s wishes and feelings at the centre and thus ensuring that their inherent dignity is respected.

Influenza: Vaccination

Sir Mark Hendrick: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps the Government is taking to increase the uptake of flu vaccinations for primary-aged school children in Lancashire.

Steve Brine: A flu vaccination target of at least 65% has been set out in the annual flu letter for school age children in the 2018/19 flu season. The most recently published figures, as of 20 November 2018, show that Lancashire was on the way to achieving this and above the national average. Public Health England (PHE) has worked in partnership with NHS England to promote the ‘Help Us Help You’ campaign to encourage flu vaccination in England. The flu vaccination campaign is targeted at children, pregnant women, and those with long term health conditions. PHE undertakes proactive media activity to promote flu vaccination during the vaccination period. This season the media campaign was launched on 8 October 2018 and ran until 31 October and consisted of television, radio and social media advertising supported by public relations, digital search and partnership activity.

Diabetes: Health Education

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department plans to take to increase attendance at diabetes education programmes.

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department will take to increase attendance at diabetes education programmes.

Steve Brine: NHS England invested over £10 million of transformation funding in 2017/18 and a similar amount in 2018/19 to provide additional structured education places in 137 clinical commissioning groups. Since 2009/10, there has been an almost 70% increase in people recorded as being referred to structured education when newly diagnosed with diabetes, designed to help them manage their condition in the long term. The Department, NHS England and Diabetes UK are working on ways to further improve the take up of structured education by looking at greater diversity of provision through digital and web-based approaches.

Diabetes: Health Education

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many people attended diabetes education programmes in each clinical commissioning group area in 2018.

Steve Brine: The information requested is not centrally held.

Ocrelizumab

Ruth George: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what the status is of negotiations between Roche and NHS England on access to ocrelizumab for people with primary progressive MS on the NHS; and if he will take steps to help the two parties reach an agreement to deliver access to that drug.

Ruth George: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what discussions he has had with (a) Roche and (b) NHS England on introducing a managed access scheme for ocrelizumab to made available for people living with primary progressive MS.

Steve Brine: In November 2018, my Rt. hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, met with Roche to discuss life sciences, and briefly discussed the negotiations between Roche and NHS England on ocrelizumab. Similarly, the former Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Health (Lord O’Shaughnessy) met with Roche in December 2018. Both Ministers encouraged the on-going negotiations and agreed that these negotiations needed to continue in order to ensure the best conclusion for both parties, and patients that suffer from primary progressive multiple sclerosis. Those discussions are rightly for NHS England and Roche and it would not be appropriate for Ministers to intervene. The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) is currently developing technology appraisal guidance on the use of ocrelizumab for the treatment of primary progressive multiple sclerosis. NHS England is in discussions with Roche, the manufacturer of ocrelizumab, to seek to agree a commercial agreement that might enable NICE to recommend use of the drug.

NHS: Drugs

Alex Sobel: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what contingencies are in place to protect against drug price increases in the event of the UK leaving the EU without a deal.

Stephen Hammond: The costs of branded medicines are controlled by the statutory and voluntary schemes for branded medicines. Under those schemes, any price increase needs to be agreed by the Department. For unbranded generic medicines, the Department encourages competition between suppliers to drive prices down. This means that prices fluctuate because of normal market forces and can go up as well as down. The Department is working with the supply chain to ensure that patients continue to get their medicines and the supply chain for medicines is not interrupted if the United Kingdom leaves the European Union without a deal. In such a scenario it is expected that prices remain stable. There are, however, circumstances that are outside of the control of the Department, for example fluctuations in the exchange rate or an increase in the cost of raw materials that may impact on prices of generic medicines.

Food: Labelling

Andrew Selous: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, when he plans to publish the outcome of his Department's consultation entitled Calorie labelling for food and drink served outside of the home; and what the timetable is for implementing the recommendations from that consultation.

Steve Brine: We will publish the results of the consultation on mandating calorie labelling in the out-of-home sector and set out the timetable for further action later this year.

HIV Infection: Drugs

Diana Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of increasing the number of places available on the pre-exposure prophylaxis impact trial for gay and bisexual men.

Diana Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, when all sites selected for the pre-exposure prophylaxis impact trial will be open to participant recruitment.

Steve Brine: An error has been identified in the written answer given on 20 December 2018.The correct answer should have been:

The 10,000 places allocated to the Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis Impact Trial undertaken across England were determined on the basis of the numbers likely to address the study objectives. The figure was revised upwards to 13,000 in 2018. Any further increase in trial numbers would need to be considered against the likelihood that the trial objectives would not be met or revised objectives are felt to be necessary. Of the current 152 sites that expressed an interest in taking part,All planned 140 trial sites have now opened. The current overview of the site status can be seen on the trial website at the following link: https://www.prepimpacttrial.org.uk/join-the-trial

Steve Brine: The 10,000 places allocated to the Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis Impact Trial undertaken across England were determined on the basis of the numbers likely to address the study objectives. The figure was revised upwards to 13,000 in 2018. Any further increase in trial numbers would need to be considered against the likelihood that the trial objectives would not be met or revised objectives are felt to be necessary. Of the current 152 sites that expressed an interest in taking part,All planned 140 trial sites have now opened. The current overview of the site status can be seen on the trial website at the following link: https://www.prepimpacttrial.org.uk/join-the-trial

Department for International Development

Developing Countries: Education

Dan Carden: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, which (a) for-profit private companies and (b) private contractors received official development assistance for the (i) delivery of education and (ii) facilitation of education programmes in (A) Kenya, (B) Nigeria and (C) Pakistan between 2015 and 2018.

Penny Mordaunt: The table below sets out the value of spend with (a) for-profit private companies and (b) private contractors in the last three years (2016/17, 2017/18 and 2018/19 YTD) for education programmes in Kenya, Nigeria and Pakistan. During this same period we have also had spend with not-for-profit organisations for education programmes in the countries cited above. Education Spend2016-172017-182018-19Supplier NameKenya (KE)Nigeria (NG)Pakistan (PK)Kenya (KE)Nigeria (NG)Pakistan (PK)Kenya (KE)Nigeria (NG)Pakistan (PK)McKinsey & Co, Inc UK  £1,153,845  £1,762,923  £747,873AECOM Professional Services £1,644,954 £373,545 CHARLES KENDALL & PARTNERS LTD£28,111 £79,600  CARDNO EMERGING MARKETS (UK) LTD £76,700  £242,969OXFORD POLICY MANAGEMENT £2,165,662£3,201,067 £2,213,853£1,810,562 £121,235£524,250ADAM SMITH INTERNATIONAL LTD£823,429£2,536,685£11,252,504 £6,213,142£6,808,816 £4,167,015£4,173,469COFFEY INTERNATIONAL  £100,295  £131,968   IMC Worldwide Limited  £17,540,619  £13,963,246  £8,968,916DAI Europe  £11,310,775  £2,307,413  £1,757,201Ecorys UK Ltd £114,849   £152,768  £151,530MOTT MACDONALD LTD £7,630,900£3,208,974 £4,793,004£4,792,040 £6,438,188£8,489,533Grand Total£851,540£14,093,051£47,768,080£0£13,219,999£31,806,438£79,600£11,099,983£25,055,741

Developing Countries: Education

Dan Carden: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, how much her Department has spent on education (a) bilaterally and (b) multilaterally in each year since 2015.

Penny Mordaunt: The amount that the Department for International Development has spent on education, bilaterally and multilaterally, is summarised in the table below. The multilateral imputed expenditure includes a small portion from other government departments, which is not disaggregated.  Spend on Education: Multilateral and Bilateral  £ thousands 201520162017Imputed UK Share of Multilateral Net ODA Education227,181259,001-DFID Bilateral ODA Education508,540874,190698,961Source: Statistics on International Development

Developing Countries: Nutrition

David Linden: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, pursuant to the Answer of 8 January 2019 to Question 206450 on Developing Countries: Nutrition, what opportunities her Department plans to provide for civil society organisations to contribute to discussions the UK Government has prior to the Nutrition For Growth summit in 2020.

Alistair Burt: DFID officials meet regularly with civil society organisations which are part of the International Coalition for Advocacy on Nutrition (ICAN) to discuss a wide range of nutrition policy issues including preparations for the Global Nutrition Summit 2020. I have also met representatives from ICAN. The UK Government intends to continue to work closely with civil society organisations in the run up to the Summit. Japan, as hosts of the Summit are also already in dialogue with civil society. The UK, which is working closely with the Government of Japan on Summit preparations, has encouraged and facilitated this dialogue and will continue to do so.

Poliomyelitis: Vaccination

Stephen Twigg: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what assessment she has made of the effect of anti-vaccination fake news on polio (a) vaccination and (b) eradication efforts in (i) Pakistan and (ii) Afghanistan.

Stephen Twigg: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what assessment her Department has made of the scale of anti-vaccination fake news in (a) Pakistan and (b) Afghanistan.

Alistair Burt: We are concerned about anti vaccination messaging on social media, and the further impact this can have, including in Afghanistan and Pakistan. These “fake news” messages have the potential to spread more rapidly and widely than traditional routes. Our emphasis has been on our own positive messaging, and supporting the Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI) and Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance to understand anti-vaccine sentiment at a local level and the root causes of concerns. These organisations use a range of tools to monitor this – including population surveys, media and social media monitoring and through community dialogue. In both Pakistan and Afghanistan, health organisations have developed strategies to increase acceptance and demand for vaccination, which includes community engagement and trust-building, regular national assessment of vaccine concerns, and crisis response planning.

Palestinians: Terrorism

Joan Ryan: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, pursuant to the Answer of 11 May 2018 to Question 141671, what assessment her Department has made of whether the Palestinian Authority has resumed directly paying salaries to those serving sentences in Israeli jails for terrorist offences.

Alistair Burt: Earlier this month a senior DFID official secured confirmation from the Palestinian Authority’s (PA) Ministry of Finance that payments are made to the Ministry of Prisoner Affairs, which then directly transfers funds to Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails and their families. The UK government continues to press the PA to reform the prisoner payments system to become more needs-based, transparent and affordable. I have raised these concerns with the Palestinian Foreign Minister, and my officials regularly do likewise. No UK aid goes to prisoner payments. UK aid to the Palestinian Authority (PA) is used exclusively to pay the salaries of vetted health and education public servants, including teachers, doctors and nurses, in the West Bank. Our money goes into a special, dedicated bank account before being paid to individuals who have been vetted in advance through the European Union Palestinian-European Socio-Economic Management Assistance Mechanism (PEGASE), ensuring UK funding is not diverted.

Department for Education

Children: Social Services

Mr David Lammy: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many children were referred to children’s services on multiple occasions before receiving support from those services in each of the last three years.

Nadhim Zahawi: The Department for Education does not hold the information in the format requested.The number of children that were referred to children’s services on multiple occasions before receiving support is not routinely produced.The department publishes figures on the total number of referrals to children’s social services within one reporting year, number of referrals which were within 12 months of a previous referral and the number of children re-referred within 12 months.These figures for the past 6 years are available in table A1 of the main tables in the ‘Characteristics of children in need: 2017 to 2018’ statistical release on gov.uk and here: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/characteristics-of-children-in-need-2017-to-2018/.

Department of Education: Overseas Aid

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how much his Department has spent on Official Development Assistance in each year since 2015.

Anne Milton: Some of the department’s spend is classified as Official Development Assistance (ODA). The estimated figures for each year from 2015 to 2017 are contained in the table below; 2018 figures are not yet available. The spend relates to the provision of education to child and unaccompanied child asylum seekers in the 12 months after they make an asylum claim in the UK. 201520162017Department spend classified as ODA (£million)222824

Grammar Schools

Mr Ranil Jayawardena: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if he will respond to the report published on 10 January 2019 by the Higher Education Policy Institute entitled The Impact of Selective Secondary Education on Progression to Higher Education.

Nick Gibb: Selective schools are some of the highest performing schools in the country and an important part of a diverse education system. Almost all of them are rated Good or Outstanding, and they are popular with parents. That is why the Government continues to support their expansion, through the Selective School Expansion Fund, where they meet the high bar that has been set for working to increase the admission of pupils from disadvantaged backgrounds.The Department is committed to opening more university-sponsered maths schools, building on the success of King’s College London Mathematics School and the Exeter Mathematics School, to help prepare more of the most mathematically able students to succeed in maths disciplines at top universities and pursue mathematically intensive careers.The Department currently has no plans to formally respond to this paper.

Army Foundation College

Liz Saville Roberts: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether Ofsted grades the Army Foundation College in Harrogate on the same basis as civilian colleges for the age group.

Anne Milton: Ofsted does not grade the Army Foundation College in Harrogate on the same basis as civilian colleges for the age group.

Children: Care Homes

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 17 December 2018 to Question 201570 on Children: Care Homes, what funding from the Children’s Social Care Innovation programme has been allocated to (a) Coventry City Council and (b) other local authorities.

Nadhim Zahawi: Launched in 2013, the Children’s Social Care Innovation Programme has invested £200 million in up to 98 projects across 3 funding rounds (2014-2020), enabling local authorities to develop, test and scale new approaches to supporting vulnerable children in the social care system supported by an independent evaluation.We have supported Coventry City Council up to £871,000 over three years to adopt and adapt Project Crewe’s successful innovative model in providing targeted support to children in need. This includes utilising integrated cross-sector working and personalised interventions aimed at ensuring that children in need in the area receive targeted, multi-agency support they need to prevent repeat referrals, escalation to child protection measures or entry to care.Coventry City Council also received £969,835 for their work with the Family Rights Group and Catch22 innovation projects.We are also working with up to 116 local authorities who are involved with the innovation programme in either leading, partnering and or supporting on an innovation programme project up to 2022.

Social Workers: Training

Mrs Emma Lewell-Buck: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to his Department's press release Funding announced to train 900 new children’s social workers dated 8 January 2019, how many applications his Department’s tender 142495-2018 received.

Mrs Emma Lewell-Buck: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to his Department's press release Funding announced to train 900 new children’s social workers dated 8 January 2019, when the supplier information day was for the tender 142495-2018; and what the attendance at that event was.

Nadhim Zahawi: Engagement events were held in London and Manchester in June last year, these events were attended by approximately 16 organisations.Three bidders expressed an interest in submitting a tender; however, one bidder withdrew their interest prior to submitting an initial bid.Following a robust and thorough commercial process Frontline were selected to run a fast-track programme that will see an additional 900 social workers join the profession by 2022.

Social Work: Education

Mrs Emma Lewell-Buck: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent assessment he has made of the adequacy of the level of spending on social work education.

Nadhim Zahawi: This government recognises the need to invest in social work. Since 2010 we have invested over £800 million in the training and practice of social workers. Our reforms aim to ensure that child and family social work remains an attractive career choice, and that more people are supported to remain in the profession.More than 1,700 people have been trained through our fast-track programmes, Frontline and Step Up to Social Work. Alongside this, 22 teaching partnerships, involving 108 local authorities and 50 higher education institutes, are helping ensure that social work students are better prepared for the realities of practice.We recognise that the quality of supervision and wider leadership can be key to recruitment, retention and opportunities for development and career progression. That is why we are investing in reforms, such as improving leadership and providing high quality continuing professional development (CPD).As we move towards the Spending Review, we will keep the level of investment in social work education under review.

Special Educational Needs

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent assessment his Department has made of the adequacy of checks in place to ensure that schools do not discriminate as part of the admissions process accepting students with special educational needs or disabilities; and if he will make a statement.

Nick Gibb: The statutory School Admissions Code (the Code) sets out that admission authorities must ensure that ‘the practices and the criteria used to decide the allocation of school places are fair, clear and objective’ and that a school’s oversubscription criteria must be ‘reasonable, clear, objective, procedurally fair, and comply with the relevant legislation, including equalities legislation’. The Code further provides that an admission authority cannot discriminate against or disadvantage disabled children or those with special educational needs.Any parent who has been refused a school place may appeal to an independent appeal panel. If the appeal panel finds that the school’s admission arrangements were unlawful, or incorrectly applied in the case at hand with the result that the child was wrongfully refused admission, the panel can uphold the appeal and the child must be admitted.Anyone who believes that a school’s admission arrangements do not comply with the Code may make an objection to the Office of the Schools Adjudicator. The decision reached by the schools adjudicator is binding and enforceable by my right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education.In addition, where a child with special educational needs has an education and health and care plan, which names a school, that school is required by s43 of the Children and Families Act 2014 to admit the child.

Ministry of Justice

Prisons: Fire Prevention

Mary Glindon: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if he will publish the dates on which each prison establishment last undertook full night-time fire contingencies exercises.

Rory Stewart: An error has been identified in the written answer given on 16 January 2019.The correct answer should have been:

The dates on which public sector prisons in England and Wales last undertook night-time fire contingency exercises; whether a formal report from Fire and Rescue Services was provided; and whether additional staff were requested as a result of such exercises, is provided in the attached table. Arrangements are being made to ensure that prisons listed as not yet completing for the period to undertake a fire contingency exercise.Prison Fire Safety leads engage regularly with Fire and Rescue Services to ensure contingency plans are fit for purpose, and any issues or concerns are highlighted as part of this ongoing engagement. Additionally, Fire and Rescue Service Senior Fire Officers are required to highlight significant problems or concerns to the National Fire Chiefs Council (NFCC) Operations Committee. The NFCC have confirmed that no reports on the outcomes of night-time fire contingency testing have been received.Privately Managed Prisons (PMPs) are also obliged to follow Prison Service Instruction 11/2015, Fire Safety in Prison Establishments. This requires Directors of PMP’s to regularly test the fire contingency plans for both day and night state; contingency plans for fire must be tested at least annually.Operators of PMPs hold data for their own contract sites. Each PMP has a full-time on-site Controller employed by HM Prison and Probation Service (HMPPS). The Controller has regular review meetings with the contractor against a range of performance indicators. Any concerns in relation to these performance indicators or any other concerns relating to the delivery of the contract are discussed at these meetings. Where action is needed, progress is monitored by the Controller and escalated within HMPPS. Where appropriate action can be taken in accordance with the contract. This may include a requirement for urgent improvement and/or financial deductions.



Table for 205271, 205272, 205273
(Excel SpreadSheet, 13.8 KB)

Rory Stewart: The dates on which public sector prisons in England and Wales last undertook night-time fire contingency exercises; whether a formal report from Fire and Rescue Services was provided; and whether additional staff were requested as a result of such exercises, is provided in the attached table. Arrangements are being made to ensure that prisons listed as not yet completing for the period to undertake a fire contingency exercise.Prison Fire Safety leads engage regularly with Fire and Rescue Services to ensure contingency plans are fit for purpose, and any issues or concerns are highlighted as part of this ongoing engagement. Additionally, Fire and Rescue Service Senior Fire Officers are required to highlight significant problems or concerns to the National Fire Chiefs Council (NFCC) Operations Committee. The NFCC have confirmed that no reports on the outcomes of night-time fire contingency testing have been received.Privately Managed Prisons (PMPs) are also obliged to follow Prison Service Instruction 11/2015, Fire Safety in Prison Establishments. This requires Directors of PMP’s to regularly test the fire contingency plans for both day and night state; contingency plans for fire must be tested at least annually.Operators of PMPs hold data for their own contract sites. Each PMP has a full-time on-site Controller employed by HM Prison and Probation Service (HMPPS). The Controller has regular review meetings with the contractor against a range of performance indicators. Any concerns in relation to these performance indicators or any other concerns relating to the delivery of the contract are discussed at these meetings. Where action is needed, progress is monitored by the Controller and escalated within HMPPS. Where appropriate action can be taken in accordance with the contract. This may include a requirement for urgent improvement and/or financial deductions.



Table for 205271, 205272, 205273
(Excel SpreadSheet, 13.8 KB)

Young Offenders: Solitary Confinement

Seema Malhotra: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many young offenders have been kept in solitary confinement for 22 hours a day in each Young Offenders Institution in the last month for which figures are available.

Edward Argar: Our response to PQ 141024 provided a breakdown of the total number of hours young people spent in segregation in each Young Offender Institution, where data is available, over the last 5 years. HMPPS are in the process of reviewing how this data is collected across each establishment in the Youth Estate. The safety and welfare of young people in our care is the core priority of the Youth Custody Service and children are never subject to solitary confinement. There are some occasions when it is necessary to remove children from association. On those occasions they will, as far as possible, have access to a regime that is comparable to the normal regime; including entitlements to social and legal visits, religious services, access to the phone, education, showers and exercise in the open air and, where possible, in association with other removed children.

Prisons: Staff

Liz Saville Roberts: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many prison staff have been deployed as part of the 10 Prisons Programme from other areas of the prison estate; and if he will list those numbers of staff by prison they have been deployed from.

Rory Stewart: Holding answer received on 22 January 2019



When we need temporary deployment of experienced or specialist staff, we have in place a well-established Detached Duty scheme which ensures the prisons sending staff have the necessary resources to do so safely. As an extension of this scheme, we are planning to temporarily transfer 31 staff members from the wider prison estate to support the 10 Prisons Project. The supporting prisons were identified as those best placed to assist based on a risk-assessment of resource levels. We have also provided additional funding for several additional staff in the 10 Prisons to lead their Drugs Strategies, improve searching and work with extra drug-detection dogs that we’ve provided. A list of prisons providing supporting staff to the 10 Prisons Project is provided below: Prison No. suppliedBrinsford1Buckley Hall1Bullingdon1Cardiff2Dartmoor1Eastwood Park1Erlestoke1Frankland1Full Sutton1Garth1Gartree1Grendon & Springhill1Hatfield1Highpoint1Holme House1Lancaster Farms1Leicester1Lincoln1Littlehey1Maidstone1Manchester1Preston1Risley1Stafford1Stocken1Stoke Heath1Wakefield1Whatton1Whitemoor1Wymott1

Prisons: Smuggling

Richard Burgon: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what research his Department has commissioned on the routes which are used to bring contraband into prisons.

Rory Stewart: Holding answer received on 22 January 2019



Our national, regional and prison-level intelligence teams and our Security Risk Unit build a picture of how various forms of contraband, including drugs and mobile phones, enter our prisons. In March last year we further augmented this capability by investing £14 million in intelligence teams and new serious and organised crime teams to work closely with the Home Office, National Crime Agency and police forces. The research paper The Demand for and Use of Illicit Phones in Prisons published in 2018 also explains that illicit mobile phones can enter prisons in a number of ways. This can be viewed here. Our security counter-measures then assist us to stop contraband from entering prisons, retrieve it and thereby frustrate illicit trade and further criminal activity within the prison. Most recently we have moved to draft specialist search teams into prisons across England and Wales, and invested £7 million to enhance security through scanners, improved searching techniques and phone blocking technology.

Forensic Science: Misconduct

Louise Haigh: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps his Department is taking to provide public information on the right of people to apply for a C650 Application notice to vary or set aside an order in relation to children as a result of the manipulation of forensic tests.

Lucy Frazer: Holding answer received on 17 January 2019



Individuals concerned about the potential impact of an unreliable test result in their case can make an application to the family court to change, or set aside, the final order made in their case. The Government has established a bespoke process to do so through form C650 and has waived the court fee for all applications made using this process. This was announced by the Minister for Policing in a written Ministerial statement on 21 November 2017 (HCWS265). My department then wrote to the Justice Select Committee and a number of key stakeholders to draw their attention to this process including the Law Society, the Bar Council and the Association of Lawyers for Children. Information about the court process and a link to form C650 is publicly available at https://www.gov.uk/guidance/forensic-toxicology-tests.

Sexual Offences Act 2003

Layla Moran: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what post-legislative scrutiny of the Sexual Offences Act 2003 the Government has undertaken; and when he plans to review Section 21 of that Act.

Lucy Frazer: Holding answer received on 22 January 2019



The Sexual Offences Act 2003 provides a raft of offences to deal with sexual abuse and exploitation. These offences rightly carry robust sentences to deal with this serious offending. The protection of the public from the scourge of sexual abuse remains a priority for this Government. We recognise how important it is that the law on sexual offending is fit for purpose and we keep this area of the law under review, making changes to the law when appropriate.

Ministry of Justice: Public Bodies

Catherine West: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many staff at (a) HM Inspectorate of Prisons, (b) HM Inspectorate of Probation, (c) HM Prison Service, (d) HM Prison and Probation Service and (e) Prison Service Pay Review body that work (i) inside and (ii) outside Greater London are paid at a rate below the London Living Wage.

Rory Stewart: Holding answer received on 22 January 2019



It is not a legal requirement for employers to pay at least the London living wage. However, all MoJ employees are paid at least the National Minimum Wage and the National Living Wage. 0 staff inside London and 0 staff outside London employed by HM Inspectorate of Prisons are paid a rate below the London Living Wage of £10.55 per hour 0 staff inside London and 6 staff outside London employed by HM Inspectorate of Probation are paid a rate below the London Living Wage of £10.55 per hour 17 staff inside London and 5,795 staff outside London employed by HMPPS in the Prison Service only are paid a rate below the London Living Wage of £10.55 per hour 18 staff inside London and 7,167 staff outside London employed by HMPPS in the Prison Service and Probation Service only are paid a rate below the London Living Wage of £10.55 per hour All members of the Prison Service Pay Review Body are independent Board Members and are not civil servants or employees of the MoJ. The Prison Service Pay Review Body does not employ any staff.

Ministry of Justice: Public Bodies

Catherine West: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many staff at (a) HM Inspectorate of Prisons, (b) HM Inspectorate of Probation, (c) HM Prison Service, (d) HM Prison and Probation Service and (e) Prison Service Pay Review body that work (i) inside and (ii) outside Greater London are paid at a rate below the Real Living Wage.

Rory Stewart: Holding answer received on 22 January 2019



It is not a legal requirement for employers to pay at least the Real living wage. However, all MoJ employees are paid at least the National Minimum Wage and the National Living Wage.0 staff inside London and 0 staff outside London employed by HM Inspectorate of Prisons are paid a rate below the Real Living Wage of £9.00 per hour 0 staff inside London and 0 staff outside London employed by HM Inspectorate of Probation are paid a rate below the Real Living Wage of £9.00 per hour 0 staff inside London and 420 staff outside London employed by HMPPS in the Prison Service only are paid a rate below the Real Living Wage of £9.00 per hour 0 staff inside London and 548 staff outside London employed by HMPPS in the Prison Service and Probation Service only are paid a rate below the Real Living Wage of £9.00 per hour All members of the Prison Service Pay Review Body are independent Board Members and are not civil servants or employees of the MoJ. The Prison Service Pay Review Body does not employ any staff.

Berwyn Prison

Liz Saville Roberts: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the Answer of 17 September 2018 to Question 171719 on Berwyn Prison, how many prisoners are engaged in work or learning and skills for more than 30 hours a week.

Rory Stewart: The offer of activities at HMP Berwyn has developed alongside the population increase and availability will continue to increase as the population grows. As of Wednesday 16 January 2019, 925 (73-74%) prisoners have chosen to engage in work or learning and skills on a full-time basis and 25 part-time. Full time hours for prisoners at HMP Berwyn equates to nine sessions per week, which is a total of 28 ¼ hours. The aim is to offer a variety of work and education activities to all prisoners throughout the core day. This purposeful activity offers the chance to gain new skills that will help them for the rest of their lives. Together with our partners, we hope prisoners gain the skills, qualifications and work ethic to improve their employment prospects upon release in to the community and reduce their chances of reoffending.

Berwyn Prison: North Wales Fire and Rescue Service

Liz Saville Roberts: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, on how many occasions the North Wales Fire and Rescue Service has been called to HMP Berwyn each year since that prison opened.

Rory Stewart: At HMP Berwyn we work closely with partners such as the North Wales Fire and Rescue Service. On each occasion, fires were extinguished by the time the fire service arrived to the prison. The number of occasions the North Wales Fire and Rescue Service have been called to HMP Berwyn each year can be found in the table below:  Number of incidents – Fire1201717201810201920 to date1) Figures include fire related incidents that were false alarms 2) To January 2019

Berwyn Prison: Staff

Liz Saville Roberts: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many prison officers in positions as frontline operational staff at HMP Berwyn (a) by each prison block and (b) deployed in the care and separation unit have (i) less than two years experience and (ii) less than one year experience.

Rory Stewart: It is important to emphasise that Berwyn is a new prison, and so no-one by definition could have worked at Berwyn before it opened in February 2017. The number of band 3-5 officers in post in HMP Berwyn with (i) less than one year experience and (ii) less than two years’ experience is provided in table 1 below. Table 1: Band 3-5 officers1 in post at HMP Berwyn, by length of service2, as at 30 September 2018 Full-time equivalentPercentage (%)Less than one year experience7118.3Less than two years’ experience20953.9  1 Includes Band 3-4 / Prison Officer (incl specialists), Band 4 / Supervising Officer and Band 5 / Custodial Managers.2 Length of service in HMPPS calculated from most recent hire date. Where staff have transferred in from another Government Department or have transferred in through HMPPS taking over a function, length of service is calculated from entry to HMPPS. Although front line staff are assigned to work in certain areas at HMP Berwyn we are unable to breakdown the information (a) by each prison block and (b) deployed in the care and separation unit. All frontline staff could be deployed to work in any part of the prison on a daily basis.

Berwyn Prison: Prisoners' Transfers

Liz Saville Roberts: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many requests for transfers out of HMP Berwyn have been made by prisoners in each year since that prison opened.

Rory Stewart: At HMP Berwyn, there are currently 250 active requests recorded on the system that have been made by prisoners to transfer to other prisons in England and Wales. This information cannot be broken down per year as requested and includes transfer requests that remain active but:The receiving prison does not accept the transfer requestThe transfer cannot be made due to restrictions, orThe prisoner changes their mind.All of the above stay as active request in the Offender Management department at HMP Berwyn until either a transfer to another prison occurs or the prisoner is released.

Berwyn Prison: Staff

Liz Saville Roberts: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many members of staff at HMP Berwyn are on (a) short term sick leave, (b) long-term sick leave, and (c) restricted duty.

Rory Stewart: As at 30 September 2018, there were 609 (FTE) staff In Berwyn; of these 141 were non-operational and 468 were operational (of which 387 were Prison Officers). The recorded figures for September 2018 for staff sickness are reported as (a) 11 for short term sick leave, (b) 15 long-term sick leave, and (c) 14 restricted duty, inclusive of six maternity related restrictions. We are committed to supporting the health of all our employees which is why we have implemented a strategy designed to identify the causes of stress and ensure help is in place. We have recruited more than 4,300 officers since October to further ease the burden on our staff in prisons, and have simultaneously given them the biggest pay rise in a decade to better reflect their hard work. Whilst staff sickness at HMP Berwyn is below the national target, the recent appointment of a dedicated resource to manage processes around sickness has begun to demonstrate an improvement in this area.

Members: Correspondence

Karen Lee: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, when he plans to respond to the letter of the hon. Member for Lincoln, of 5 October 2018, on issues at HMP Lincoln, reference MC062204.

Rory Stewart: The response was sent to you on 6 November 2018 and a further copy has been sent to your office.

Registered Intermediaries

Geraint Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what plans does he have to increase the number of Registered Intermediaries.

Lucy Frazer: Registered Intermediaries play a vital role in helping vulnerable victims and witnesses give evidence. Demand for their services has increased rapidly over recent years and to meet this a rolling regional recruitment campaign has been ongoing since 2017. We recruited and trained 41 Registered Intermediaries in 2018, which represents a further 25% compared to the number that were active at the beginning of the year, meeting our commitment in the Victims’ Strategy. Recruitment activities are continuing; the most recent campaign in Wales closed in December and the next is due to be launched imminently. Recruitment will continue throughout 2019.

Ministry of Justice: Disclosure of Information

Sir Mike Penning: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many non-disclosure agreements his Department entered into in 2017.

Sir Mike Penning: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many non-disclosure agreements his Department entered into in 2016.

Sir Mike Penning: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many non-disclosure agreements his Department entered into in 2015.

Sir Mike Penning: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many non-disclosure agreements his Department entered into in 2014.

Sir Mike Penning: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many non-disclosure agreements his Department entered into in 2013.

Sir Mike Penning: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many non-disclosure agreements his Department entered into in 2012.

Sir Mike Penning: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many non-disclosure agreements his Department entered into in 2011.

Sir Mike Penning: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many non-disclosure agreements his Department entered into in 2010.

Sir Mike Penning: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many non-disclosure agreements his Department entered into in 2009.

Sir Mike Penning: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many non-disclosure agreements his Department entered into in 2008.

Sir Mike Penning: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many non-disclosure agreements his Department entered into in 2007.

Sir Mike Penning: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many non-disclosure agreements his Department entered into in 2006.

Sir Mike Penning: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many non-disclosure agreements his Department entered into in 2005.

Edward Argar: The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) does not centrally hold information on non-disclosure agreements as there is no legal or business requirement to do so.Within the standard terms of contracts signed with suppliers for the provision of goods and service to the MoJ there are clauses about interaction between the parties, how to protect the parties’ best interests and safeguard commercial and sensitive information which have been present in government contracts for a long time. These clauses are not considered to be Non-Disclosure Agreements and are not intended to stop criticism of Ministers, the Department or its policies. Since January 2011, details of central government contracts above the value of £10,000 are published on Contracts Finder. Contracts published prior to 26 February 2015 can be viewed at: https://data.gov.uk/data/contracts-finder-archive Those published after 26 February 2015 can be viewed at: https://www.contractsfinder.service.gov.uk/Search

Prisoners' Release: Homelessness

Victoria Prentis: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment his Department has made of the correlation between homelessness on release from prison and reoffending rates among prisoners serving sentences of under a year.

Rory Stewart: Published statistics for 2017/18 showing the accommodation status for all offenders released from custody and offenders on community sentences can be viewed here: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/729062/accommodation-cirumstances-tables-2018.xlsx.Everyone leaving custody should have a safe and suitable home to go to on release.As part of the Government initiative to reduce and ultimately eliminate rough sleeping across England, we will invest up to £6.4 million in a pilot scheme to help ex-offenders into accommodation from three prisons, namely Bristol, Pentonville and Leeds. The pilots will specifically focus on male prisoners who have served shorter sentences of under 12 months, who have been identified as having a risk of homelessness.Furthermore, as of 1 October 2018, Prisons and Probation providers have had a “Duty to Refer” anyone who is homeless or at risk of becoming homeless to the Local Authority. Following a referral, Local Authorities are then required to make an assessment, meaning offenders can receive meaningful housing assistance at an earlier stage irrespective of their priority need.

Courts: Repairs and Maintenance

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what recent assessment his Department has made of the number of courts that require repair work.

Lucy Frazer: Holding answer received on 22 January 2019



All court and tribunal buildings require routine maintenance to resolve issues that arise, and to keep them operational. Since 2015/16, as at January 2019 we have invested approximately £123m on capital maintenance to improve our estate. HM Courts & Tribunals Service has undertaken a programme of surveys over the last 12 months to identify the capital maintenance repairs required at courts and tribunals across the UK. A rolling programme of repairs and investment is in place to deal with the areas of highest maintenance priority and in December 2018, it was announced an extra £15 million was being set aside this year for security and maintenance work.

Prisoners: Nottinghamshire

Ben Bradley: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what estimate he has made of the number of prisoners given custodial sentences who were homeless before sentencing in Nottinghamshire in each year since 2015.

Rory Stewart: We are unable to provide data based on the total number of prisoners who were given custodial sentences in Nottinghamshire and were homeless before sentencing as this data isn’t held. Instead the following table sets out the number of people of no fixed abode serving sentences who had an origin address link to Nottinghamshire and who were held in prisons at intervals since 2015. It does not include those held on remand, who are held on a non-criminal basis or those held in immigration removal centres. MarchJuneSeptemberDecember2015125130151147201615914613513120171411421611492018132150139147 Her Majesty’s Prison and Probation Service (HMPPS) works to ensure that prisoners due to be released from prison have accommodation arranged for them upon release. It is recognised that securing suitable accommodation is a vital part of an offender's resettlement, and we are working collaboratively with other government departments and interested parties to ensure that we meet the accommodation needs for prisoners on their release. There are currently 100 Approved Premises (AP), providing over 2,200 bed spaces nationally. The recent introduction of the Homelessness Reduction Act 2017 will also help facilitate resettlement for the prisoners back into areas without APs. The Government published its Rough Sleeping Strategy in August 2018, launching a £100 million initiative to reduce and ultimately eliminate rough sleeping across England. As part of this strategy, Ministry of Justice and Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG), will be investing approximately £6m in a pilot scheme to support ex-offenders secure suitable accommodation upon release; the pilots will operate in HMPs Pentonville, Bristol and Leeds.

Ministry of Justice: Pay

Gareth Snell: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what information his Department holds on the rate of remuneration for (a) cleaners, (b) security guards and (c) catering staff in his Department in (i) Greater London and (ii) outside Greater London.

Edward Argar: Cleaning services, security guarding services and catering services across the department are mostly outsourced. Suppliers are responsible for setting rates of pay for their staff and rates vary dependent on their age, location and market rates. All suppliers are required to pay, as a minimum, either the National Minimum Wage or the National Living Wage. The rates set by government for the National Minimum Wage and the National Living Wage are to rise in April 2019. Staff employed by the department receive a salary that is at or above National Living Wage.

Medway Secure Training Centre: Inspections

Mrs Emma Lewell-Buck: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, with reference to Ofsted's Freedom of Information request datasets 2017: Residential education provision as at 16 November 2017, published on 9 January 2019, when the most recent Ofsted inspection of the residential education provision at Medway Training centre took place; and what the effectiveness grade was of that assessment.

Mrs Emma Lewell-Buck: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, with reference to Ofsted's Freedom of Information request datasets 2017: Residential education provision as at 16 November 2017, published on 9 January 2019, when the most recent Ofsted inspection of the residential education provision at Oakhill Secure Training centre took place; and what the effectiveness grade was of that assessment.

Mrs Emma Lewell-Buck: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, with reference to Ofsted's Freedom of Information request datasets 2017: Residential education provision as at 16 November 2017, published on 9 January 2019, when the most recent Ofsted inspection of the residential education provision at Rainsbrook Secure Training centre took place; and what the effectiveness grade was of that assessment.

Edward Argar: The information requested is provided in the table below.Secure Training Centre (STC)Date of latest published inspectionDate report publishedAssessment score (‘The achievement of young people’)Medway26 February – 21 March 2018*11 May 2018Requires improvementOakhill5-15 June 20186 August 2018Requires improvementRainsbrook2-12 October 201827 November 2018Good Notes- Assessments are made on a four-point scale: Outstanding; Good; Requires improvement to be good; Inadequate. - The Ofsted inspection framework may consider more than just education in the ‘achievement of young people’ section of their reports, however this is the section where education is best represented.- *Medway STC has recently been inspected by Ofsted and their report is expected to be published shortly.

Department for International Trade

Arms Trade: Saudi Arabia

Catherine West: To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, how many compliance audits have been undertaken in relation to the Open Individual Export Licences granted to BAE Systems (Operations) Ltd on (a) 5 December 2013 for Storm Shadow air-to-surfaces missiles, (b) 5 March 2014 for Paveway Guided Bombs and (c) 21 August 2018 for Brimstone air-to-surface missiles for which Saudi Arabia was the end user country; and if he will make a statement.

Graham Stuart: There have been 3 compliance audits in relation to Open Individual Export Licences granted to BAE Systems (Operations) Ltd, for which Saudi Arabia was the end user country, since the first licence referred to was granted on 5 December 2013. Our records show that the licence for export of Brimstone air-to-surface missiles was granted in 2014, not 2018 as referred to in the Parliamentary question.

Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government

Coastal Communities Fund

Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, (a) what assessment he has made of the adequacy of the administration of round five of the coastal communities fund for England, (b) if he will publish the names of those winning bids for that fund, (c) how many complaints he has had about the administration of that fund and (d) how many requests he has had to halt the distribution of those funds.

Jake Berry: (a) A competitive tendering exercise was held to appoint a contractor to help my Department administer Round 5 of the Coastal Communities Fund. This was managed by the Crown Commercial Service under their Grants and Programmes Framework Agreement. Groundwork UK were appointed to the Framework following a rigorous selection process and met all due diligence requirements. They were selected to administer the Round 5 grant application and assessment procedures following further competitive tendering under the Framework. They have demonstrated effectively that they can deliver the detailed administration requirements of the Fund in a fair and unbiased way, drawing on their extensive experience of administering other competitive grant programmes.(b) To date 16 Round 5 ‘fast track’ applications worth £6 million have submitted successful bids to the Fund. A full list of the winning bids can be found at the gov.uk web site using the link below:https://www.gov.uk/government/news/6-million-awarded-to-successful-coastal-projects-in-first-wave-of-funding.We expect to announce the successful Round 5 main round winners by Spring 2019.(c) and (d) Two complaints have been received over the administration of Round 5, one of which also asked that the distribution of funds under Round 5 is halted until an independent audit of the application process is undertaken.

Retail Trade: Urban Areas

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what estimate he has made of the cost to the public purse of steps his Department has taken to support high streets in each year since 2010.

Jake Berry: Since 2010, the Government has helped create over 360 town teams, and given over £18 million to towns - funding successful initiatives such as “Love your Local Market” and the “Great British High Street”.This is in addition to funding streams such as the Local Growth Fund, Coastal Revival Fund and Coastal Communities Fund, which have each funded a number of projects in high streets and town centres.The Government further demonstrated our commitment to supporting high streets and town centres at Autumn Budget 2018, where we set out “Our Plan for The High Street”. This includes the £675 million Future High Streets Fund, which will help local areas make their high streets and town centres fit for the future.

Ministry of Defence

Caribbean and South East Asia: Military Bases

Ben Lake: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, for what reason he plans to establish new military bases in (a) the Caribbean and (b) South East Asia after the UK leaves the EU.

Ben Lake: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what estimate he has made of the costs of the (a) set up and (b) annual running of the proposed new military bases to be established in (i) the Caribbean and (ii) South East Asia after the UK leaves the EU.

Ben Lake: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what discussions he has had with (a) Cabinet colleagues and (b) his European counterparts on the merits of the UK establishing new military bases in (i) the Caribbean and (ii) South East Asia after the UK leaves the EU.

Ben Lake: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what role he plans for Parliament to play in the scrutiny of the establishment of the proposed new military bases in the (a) Caribbean and (b) South East Asia to be set up after the UK leaves the EU.

Ben Lake: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will write to the (a) Defence Select Committee and (b) Public Accounts Committee to outline his plans for establishing new military bases in (i) the Caribbean and (ii) South East Asia after the UK leaves the EU.

Mark Lancaster: The Ministry of Defence plays a crucial role in the projection of UK global influence, upholding the Rules Based International System which delivers protection, peace and security for all and countering international threats to the UK, its interests and our overseas territories. Our global network of operational and logistic support bases enables the UK to play a leading role in delivering international security. As such, we have a duty to constantly review and improve the methods by which we deliver these effects and to ensure that the UK is always best placed and prepared to continue our commitments to global security and routinely consult with our allies and partners on these issues.

Royal Tank Regiment: Death

Martin Docherty-Hughes: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether his Department has issued a response to HM Senior Coroner for Birmingham and Solihull in relation to the Regulation 28 report, dated 17 July 2018 on the deaths of two members of the Royal Tank Regiment on 14 June 2017.

Mr Tobias Ellwood: Yes, the Secretary of State for Defence issued a response to HM Senior Coroner for Birmingham and Solihull within the required 56 days following the Prevention of Future Deaths Report.

Ministry of Defence: Overseas Aid

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how much his Department has spent on Official Development Assistance in each year since 2015.

Mark Lancaster: Since the beginning of 2015 the Ministry of Defence has spent a total of £13.98 million on Official Development Assistance (ODA), a breakdown by year is below. The 2018 figure is currently undergoing the usual assurance process and is scheduled to be published on 1 April 2019. 201520162017£2.75 million£5.11 million£6.12 million ODA is reported on the basis of calendar years rather than financial years, and is reported on a cash rather than an accruals basis.

Department for Work and Pensions

Universal Credit: Havering

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many benefit claimants have been migrated to universal credit since June 2018 in the Havering Borough Council area.

Alok Sharma: Claimants move from existing benefits to Universal Credit when they experience a significant change in their circumstances that triggers a new claim to benefit. We do not centrally collate the number of claimants that have made a new claim to Universal Credit as a result of such a change in circumstances As set out in Written Ministerial Statement HCWS1243, moving legacy benefit and tax credit claimants where there is no change of circumstance across to Universal Credit will begin with a pilot in July 2019. This pilot will initially involve no more than 10,000 claimants. Testing the system and our processes will allow us to make sure we can provide the best possible service to those who are moved to Universal Credit. The movement of these legacy benefit and tax credit claimants will be completed, as planned, by the end of 2023.

Universal Credit: North Herefordshire

Bill Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps her Department is taking to ensure the effective roll-out of universal credit in North Herefordshire constituency.

Alok Sharma: Universal Credit is now fully rolled out. From 12 December 2018, it has been available for new claims across the country. Universal Credit replaces six benefits with one, to simplify the system and make work pay. As a result, people claiming Universal Credit move into work faster, stay in work longer and spend more time looking to increase their earnings. Universal Credit also provides more help with childcare costs, a dedicated Work Coach, scraps the 16-hour ‘cliff edge’ and the prohibitive tax rates should someone start work. Under the legacy system £2.4 billion of welfare benefits did not get paid at all because claimants could not navigate the complexity of the system. Universal Credit is putting this right, ensuring this money goes to 700,000 claimants who need it. The next stage of the Universal Credit process will be to move claimants on the existing legacy benefits onto Universal Credit. Once this process has been completed there will be an additional £2.1 billion spend per year on Universal Credit compared to the current legacy system it replaces. Earlier this month, in Written Statement HCWS1243, I set out our revised plans on how we intend to do this over the next few years.

Department for Work and Pensions: Overseas Aid

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how much her Department has spent on Official Development Assistance in each year since 2015.

Justin Tomlinson: The amounts of DWP expenditure classified by Department for International Development (DFID) as Overseas Development Assistance are shown in the Table below 201520162017£m£m£m92431 These are published by DFID. 2016 and 2017 can be found on Page 12, Table 3 in the following publicationhttps://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/771136/Statistics-on-International-Development-Final-UK-Aid-Spend-2017-jan-revisions.pdf 2015 and 2016 can be found on Page 12, Table 3 in the following publicationhttps://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/660062/SID-2017b.pdf

Universal Credit

Dr Matthew Offord: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how much the increase in the work allowance of universal credit is worth per household.

Alok Sharma: Work allowance rates will be increased by £1000 from April 2019 and uprated in line with inflation thereafter. This measure provides additional support in a package worth £1.7 billion in 2023/24 to some of the most vulnerable low paid working households. It will increase the amount that these households can earn before the Universal Credit taper rate is applied, providing 2.4 million working households with around an extra £630 a year.

Universal Credit: Children

Dr Matthew Offord: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the exceptional circumstances are which will allow full support under universal credit for third and subsequent children born after April 2017.

Alok Sharma: Since 6 April 2017, families with third and subsequent children born on or after this date are able to claim additional support through Child Tax Credit or Universal Credit for their first two children. We recognise that some claimants are not able to make the same choices about the number of children in their family. That is why exceptions have been put in place to protect certain groups. Exceptions apply to third and subsequent children who are: Additional children in a multiple birth: an extra amount is payable for all children in a multiple birth other than the first child; orLikely to have been born as a result of non-consensual conception, which for this purpose includes non-consensual sex where the claimant was in a controlling or coercive relationship with the child’s other biological parent at the time of conception. An exception also applies to any children in a household who are: Adopted when they would otherwise be in Local Authority care; orLiving long term with friends or family and would otherwise be at risk of entering the care system, or where a child (under 16) living with their parents or carers has a child of their own (until they make a separate claim upon turning 16).

Department for Work and Pensions: Legal Costs

Richard Burgon: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the highest hourly rate was that (a) her Department and (b) each of her Department's arms-length bodies paid for legal advice in 2018.

Justin Tomlinson: The information requested is not in the public domain due to it being commercially sensitive and should not be disclosed. If disclosed it would be likely to impact the commercial interests of the Department and arms-length bodies, and the ability to obtain goods and services on the best possible commercial terms.

Department for Work and Pensions: Pay

Gareth Snell: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what information her Department holds on the rate of remuneration for (a) cleaners, (b) security guards and (c) catering staff in her Department in (i) Greater London and (ii) outside Greater London.

Justin Tomlinson: We can confirm that the Department holds information on the rate of remuneration for (a) cleaners & (b) security guards in (i) Greater London and (ii) outside Greater London. The Department does not hold any information on the rate of remuneration for (c) catering staff which is part of a service price inclusive of catering staff costs. The rates of remuneration are considered commercially sensitive and were not disclosed at point of contract award.

Employment and Support Allowance

Stephen Twigg: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 9 May 2018 to Question 142518 on employment support allowance, what guidance her Department has issued to GPs on the provision of medical notes to claimants of employment and support allowance that are appealing her Department's decision on their claim.

Sarah Newton: The guidance issued to GPs is published on the gov.uk website. The relevant information can be found on pages 8 and 9 of the following link: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/691502/the-benefits-system-a-short-guide-for-gps.pdf

Personal Independence Payment

Marion Fellows: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what her Department's target timetable is for applicants of personal independence payments to be notified of the decision on their application; and what (a) proportion and (b) number of applications met that target in each year for which information is available.

Sarah Newton: The Department does not have targets for Personal Independence Payment (PIP) applications.

Independent Case Examiner

Marion Fellows: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how much money has been spent from the public purse on the running of the office of the Independent Case Examiner for each available year; and what her Department's plans are for the future funding on that office.

Justin Tomlinson: Funding for the Independent Case Examiner’s Office is reviewed on an annual basis. The table below provides details of the budget allocated to the Office in the last four financial years. Financial Year (April to March)Amount2015/16£2,563,7022016/17£2,733,1142017/18£2,534,0052018/19£3,008,587

Independent Case Examiner

Marion Fellows: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment her Department has made of the Independent Case Examiner's ability to process complaints in a timely manner.

Justin Tomlinson: The Independent Case Examiner (ICE) is appointed under contract to adjudicate on escalated complaints about DWP and its contracted service providers, in cases where the complainant has exhausted the relevant internal complaints process and remains dissatisfied. If a complainant is dissatisfied with the outcome of an ICE investigation, or the service provided by the Office (including processing times) they can ask their Member of Parliament to escalate their complaint to the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman. The Permanent Secretary is apprised of the Ombudsman’s findings each year.

Independent Case Examiner

Marion Fellows: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what her Department's target timetable is for complaints to the Independent Case Examiner to be concluded; and what (a) proportion and (b) number of complaints met that target in each year for which information.

Justin Tomlinson: The table below provides details of the clearance time targets for the Independent Case Examiner’s Office and its performance against those targets since they were introduced in their current form.  Resolution: Aim to resolve the complaint, to the complainants satisfaction, within 8 weeks of it being accepted for investigationSettlement: Aim to settle the complaint, to the complainants satisfaction, with 15 weeks of the investigation commencingICE Report: Aim to issue the ICE Report within 20 weeks of the investigation commencing2015/1680 complaints resolved 79% within target91 complaints settled 74% within target586 ICE Reports 56% within target2016/1784 complaints resolved 86% within target127 complaints settled 87% within target660 ICE Reports 41% within target2017/1883 complaints resolved 74% within target141 complaints settled 84% within target698 ICE Reports 40% within target2018/19 (April to December 2018)131 complaints resolved 68% within target139 complaints settled 81% within target628 ICE Reports 45% within target

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Gun Sports: Licensing

Deidre Brock: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many licences to shoot protected wild bird species were issued in each of the last ten years.

Dr Thérèse Coffey: This is a devolved matter and the information refers to England only. The table below shows the number of licences to permit the killing of wild birds for purposes permitted under Section 16 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 issued between 2009 and 2018. These figures include licences to permit shooting, shooting to reinforce scaring, and other methods such as round up and cull as these are all recorded together. Due to a change of IT systems and reporting of data, we are unable to provide reliable, accurate data for 2014. YearNumber of licences issued200964020106142011719201255620138282014UNAVAILABLE2015644201673820178502018859

Dairy Farming

Dr David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what plans he has to encourage the growth of free range dairy herds.

George Eustice: Preferences for animal products from different production systems are driven by consumer demand. Our UK farming industry produces animal products under a range of different production systems, benefitting consumers who have access to a diverse choice of products from a range of different systems, including free range. The UK has some of the highest animal health and welfare standards in the world. Regardless of production method, all operational livestock farms must comply with comprehensive animal health, welfare and environmental legislation. Stockmanship and the correct application of husbandry standards whatever the system of production, is key to ensuring good welfare for all farmed animals. Our new system of agricultural support will support high welfare methods of production.

Horses: Animal Welfare

Alex Sobel: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether the Government will make an assessment of the potential merits of transferring responsibility for horse welfare from the British Horse Racing Authority and to an independent body to help ensure the welfare of racehorses.

David Rutley: The British Horseracing Authority (BHA) work in collaboration with the RSPCA and World Horse Welfare to make racetracks as safe as possible. It is good to see that the number of racehorse fatalities at racetracks has been falling steadily since 2012. However I am in active discussions with the BHA about how to make horseracing safer and I am not currently seeking to establish a different regulatory body.

Home Office

Immigration: Appeals

Tom Brake: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 7 January to Written Question 203216 on Immigration; Appeals, what the criteria are for his Department to expedite the consideration of an appeal based solely on human rights grounds in immigration cases, within the time limits set by the Tribunal Procedure Committee.

Caroline Nokes: Where the Home Office decides not to contest an allowed appeal, follow-on actions are completed as quickly as practically possible. The timeframe will vary for individual cases, especially where a fresh decision is required, or the customer needs to provide further information.Requests for priority implementation are considered on a case by case basis. For example, if an appellant has provided credible evidence of the life-threatening illness or death of a close family member overseas, UKVI will prioritise the implementation, unless there are serious countervailing factors which necessitate holding the case.

Home Office: Travel

Tulip Siddiq: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how much his Department has spent on (a) taxis, (b) first class train tickets and (c) business class air travel in each of the last four years.

Victoria Atkins: The information requested is shown in the table below:TypeFY14-15FY15-16FY16-17FY17-18Taxis£382,709.59£416,642.05£472,350.01£338, 852.38First Class Train Tickets£605.34£806.85£2,403.27£1,065.65Business Class Air Travel£267.90£2,087.81£6,188.76£516.34Expenditure on Taxis by the Home Office Group for FY2017/18 has decreased to £339k when compared to FYs14/15, 15/16 and 16/17 figures. Business class flights and first class train tickets spend fluctuated in the last four years but remained low for the Home Office Group.There has been a continued drive to reduce spend on first class rail travel across the group. First class rail travel may be booked if there are no standard class facilities available, and to accommodate staff with disabilities or other special needs requirements.

Asylum: Children

Catherine West: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 4 December 2018 to Question 195486 on guardianship for unaccompanied and separated children, what steps his Department is taking to (a) improve the (i) quality and (ii) timeliness of asylum decision making and (b) to ensure that decision makers understand the effects trauma can have on unaccompanied young people navigating the asylum system.

Catherine West: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if he will publish any internal reviews undertaken by his Department on the effects of the asylum process on unaccompanied and separated children navigating the asylum system alone.

Caroline Nokes: The Home Office takes its responsibility for the welfare of children very seriously, including ensuring that the best interests of the child are a primary consideration in every decision taken in respect of the child. We are committed to ensuring that all asylum claims are considered without unnecessary delay, so that those who need protection are granted as soon as possible and can start to integrate and rebuild their lives.We continue to work to improve the quality of decision-making to ensure that we get decisions right the first time and that we properly consider all evidence provided.We aim to reduce the proportion of allowed appeals by analysing the reasons and using this to inform and further improve guidance and training. Similarly, the Home Office’s country information and guidance is kept under review.UKVI has an internal audit process which assesses the quality of decisions, interviews and the application of Home Office policy. We have Senior Case Worker assessments as well as independent auditors from the Central Operations Assurance Team who audit asylum cases and provide quarterly reports.We have plans to improve the speed at which outstanding asylum claims are decided. These include rolling recruitment campaigns to maintain decision maker levels, a staff retention strategy to ensure it retains its highly skilled asylum decision makers, and the further expansion of digital processes to increase case working flexibility.All asylum decision-makers who consider accompanied and unaccompanied young people’s cases must attend a three day Keeping Children Safe: Tier 3 course. Part of this course is dedicated to educating decision-makers so that they can appreciate the complex psychology of asylum-seeking children. Included in this section of the course is a consideration of the effects of trauma on young children navigating the asylum system.All decision makers also receive extensive training on how to interview asylum seekers in a sensitive way and consider the claim for sustainable decisions to be reached. We ensure that claimants are given every opportunity to disclose information relevant to their claim before a decision is taken, even where that information may be sensitive or difficult to disclose.The Home Office monitors its processes to ensure that it adheres to the very stringent statutory and policy safeguards in place regarding unaccompanied asylum-seeking children. The children’s asylum process differs to the adult process and was designed around the additional needs of children.While in the UK, unaccompanied children are looked after by local authorities who have a statutory duty to ensure that they safeguard and promote the welfare of all children, regardless of their immigration status or nationality. Under these arrangements, children are assessed with regard to their individual needs and provided with access to education, accommodation and health services, as would be provided to any other looked after child in the UK.

Visas: Overseas Students

Catherine West: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what plans his Department has to introduce a post-study work visa which allows up to two years of work experience for international students in the UK.

Caroline Nokes: The independent Migration Advisory Committee’s report on international students, published in September 2018, recommended against the introduction of a separate post-study work visa. The report also made several positive recommendations with regard to the current post-study work offer.As set out in the Immigration White Paper, published last month, under the new student route all students studying at a Masters’ level, or at Bachelors’ level at an institution with degree awarding powers, will be eligible for a six-month post study leave period. Doctoral students will be eligible for a 12-month post study leave period. This will benefit tens of thousands of international students by providing them with more time to gain valuable experience or find employment in the UK in accordance with the skilled work migration routes.

Entry Clearances: Overseas Students

Catherine West: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether there will be an independent review of credibility interviews within the student immigration system to ensure the system is (a) fit for purpose, (b) cost effective relative to current risk and (c) does not hinder universities’ ability to recruit a diverse range of students.

Caroline Nokes: An internal review of point of application credibility interviews for international students was conducted in 2018 to ensure that interviews are adding value to the case consideration process and not unnecessarily inconveniencing customers.Up to date risk information was factored in to this review. Regular engagement with universities and other educational institutions ensures that feedback is collected in relation to the application process.

Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986

Guto Bebb: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when his Department plans to publish the results of its 2014 public consultation on the review of Section 24 of the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986.

Mr Ben Wallace: The government will issue a response to the consultation on the review of Section 24 of the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986 in due course.

Home Office: Overseas Aid

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how much his Department has spent on Overseas Development Aid in each year since 2015.

Victoria Atkins: Expenditure on Overseas Development Aid from 2015 to 2017 are listed below:• 2015 £222m• 2016 £376m• 2017 £354m2015https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/572063/statistics-on-international-development-2016a.pdf2016https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/627853/ho_annual_report_and_accounts_2016_2017.pdf2017https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/727179/6_4360_HO_Annual_report_WEB.PDFFigures for 2018 will be available once the annual reports are finalised.

Immigration: EU Nationals

Tulip Siddiq: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the consequences will be for EU citizens who do not register for EU settled status.

Caroline Nokes: The deadline for applications to the EU Settlement Scheme will be 30 June 2021 (under the draft Withdrawal Agreement) or 31 December 2020 (in a ‘no deal’ scenario). In either scenario, where someone misses the deadline for their application for a good reason they will be given a reasonable further period in which to apply.If an application is not made by the deadline and a UK immigration status not obtained, the individual will be subject to the requirements of the future immigration system.

Educational Testing Service: Contracts

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment his Department made of ETS’s proposal to provide English language tests for overseas students before awarding a contract; and if he will make a statement.

Caroline Nokes: A document of requirements was published, and we considered the application against those requirements. The detail of the requirements can be found in the linked document below at Annex C:http://data.parliament.uk/writtenevidence/committeeevidence.svc/evidencedocument/home-affairs-committee/english-language-testing/written/36543.pdf

Educational Testing Service: Contracts

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many bidders other than ETS were awarded contracts to provide English language tests for overseas students on behalf of his Department.

Caroline Nokes: Question 60 in the linked document below, contains information requested in PQ 209729:http://data.parliament.uk/writtenevidence/committeeevidence.svc/evidencedocument/home-affairs-committee/english-language-testing/written/36541.pdf

Windrush Generation: Applications

Stuart C. McDonald: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many applications for support in urgent and exceptional circumstances under the Windrush scheme have been (a) made and (b) accepted; how much has been paid from the public purse to people whose applications have been accepted; and how many applications have been rejected on the ground that the applicant was a British national.

Caroline Nokes: The Secretary of State provides a monthly update letter to the Home Affairs Select Committee on the work of the department in relation to Windrush. It is intended that future updates will incorporate information on the Windrush Scheme policy for support in urgent and exceptional needs.

Members: Correspondence

David Linden: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when the Minister of State for Immigration plans to respond to the letter from the hon. Member for Glasgow East of 27 November 2018, reference DL2002.

Caroline Nokes: Unfortunately the letter of 27 November was not received until 17 December 2018, when the MP sent an email asking for an update. It is unclear what happened to the original letter and no trace has been found. A response was sent on 15 January 2019. The reply has today been resent to the MP by email and receipt confirmed by the MPs office.

Immigrants: Detainees

Tulip Siddiq: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when his Department plans to publish its review of time limits on immigration detention.

Caroline Nokes: This is an internal review designed to inform the Home Secretary’s consideration on the use of immigration detention time limits in other countries.We are looking closely at the issue of time limits to understand how we can have a detention system that is fair to those who may be detained, upholds our immigration policies, and acts as a deterrent to those who might seek to frustrate those policies. The areas that the Hon. Member refers to will inform our considerations in this regard.

Immigrants: Detainees

Tulip Siddiq: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether his Department has conducted an assessment of the potential effect of the proposed Immigration (Time Limit on Detention) Bill on (a) the number of people detained under immigration powers and (b) the number of Immigration Removal Centres required in the UK.

Caroline Nokes: This is an internal review designed to inform the Home Secretary’s consideration on the use of immigration detention time limits in other countries.We are looking closely at the issue of time limits to understand how we can have a detention system that is fair to those who may be detained, upholds our immigration policies, and acts as a deterrent to those who might seek to frustrate those policies. The areas that the Hon. Member refers to will inform our considerations in this regard.

Attorney General

Bhanu Choudhrie and Sudhir Choudhrie

Kelvin Hopkins: To ask the Attorney General, what is the status of (a) SFO and (b) CPS investigations into (i) Sudhir Choudhrie, (ii) Bhanu Choudhrie and (iii) other related parties.

Robert Buckland: The Serious Fraud Office (SFO) is aware of the allegations made publicly about Sudhir and Bhanu Choudhrie. The SFO can neither confirm nor deny if Sudhir or Bhanu Choudhrie are currently subject to investigation by the SFO, or what, if any, representations the SFO has received about them. In order to protect the investigative process it is not always possible, or even desirable for investigative bodies to confirm whether or not an individual or organisation is subject to an investigation, or provide any details of matters under investigation. The SFO proactively publishes information about its cases on its website whenever it is appropriate. The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) prosecutes cases that are referred to it by the police and does not have any investigative function.

Northern Ireland Office

Northern Ireland Office: Pay

Gareth Snell: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what information her Department holds on the rate of remuneration for (a) cleaners, (b) security guards and (c) catering staff in her Department in (i) Greater London and (ii) outside Greater London.

John Penrose: My Department holds the following information on the rate of remuneration for (a) cleaners, (b) security guards and (c) catering staff. (i) Greater London - No information is held. These services are charged as part of our Landlords service charge. (ii) Outside Greater London - No individual remuneration rate is held. Contacts are held collaboratively, by the Northern Ireland Centre of Procurement Excellence. Within these contracts there are general clauses requiring contractors to comply with labour laws, minimum wage etc.

Treasury

Revenue and Customs: Overseas Aid

Philip Davies: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how much HM Revenue and Customs has spent on Official Development Assistance in each year since 2015.

Mel Stride: Statistics on Official Development Assistance spending in each calendar year, including a breakdown by department, are published as part of the annual Statistics on International Development. HM Revenue and Customs spend on Official Development Assistance is detailed in the table below. Year201520162017£m2914 These can be found at https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/statistics-on-international-development

Insurance: Criminal Records

Dr David Drew: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what discussions he has had with insurance companies on the potential for discrimination through the use of criminal record information for the purpose of setting policy premiums.

John Glen: It is important that consumers have access to suitable insurance products at the right price. The government remains in regular discussion with the insurance industry and other interested parties, including the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), on the provision of insurance in the UK. Insurers make decisions about the terms on which they will offer cover following an assessment of the relevant risks. This is usually informed by the insurer’s claims experience and other industry-wide statistics. The Government does not intend to intervene in the commercial decisions of insurers as this could damage competition in the market. The respective capabilities of insurers to assess risk is a key element on which they compete. This competition is important and should lead to better products and lower prices for consumers overall.In addition, on 31st October 2018 the FCA announced the details of a market study into the pricing practices used by insurers. The market study will give the FCA a deeper understanding of the scale of any harm to consumers from insurance pricing practices, who it affects and, if required, what actions are required to improve the market. The FCA expects to release its interim report in Summer 2019. Consumers are encouraged to shop around for the most suitable cover at the best price. The charity Unlock provides support specifically for those with previous convictions in accessing insurance services and can be found at www.unlock.org.uk.

Tax Avoidance

Zac Goldsmith: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether the Government's review of the loan charge is planned to (a) seek external evidence about, (b) evaluate all aspects of and (c) be able to recommend any changes to the loan charge.

Zac Goldsmith: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps he is taking to ensure that members of the public can contribute to the review of the 2019 Loan Charge.

Mel Stride: The government chose to accept New Clause 26 during the passage of the Finance Bill, and will lay a report in line with the requirements of that New Clause no later than 30 March 2019. The report will include a comparison with the time limits for the recovery of lost tax relating to disguised remuneration loans. The government also consulted extensively on the detail of the charge on disguised remuneration loans after it was announced at Budget 2016.

Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport

Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport: Brexit

Esther McVey: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, how much funding from the public purse has been allocated to his Department for financial year 2018-19 for planning for the UK leaving the EU without a deal; and how much of that funding has been spent.

Margot James: DCMS has been allocated £26.2m of funding for the full year 2018/19, which is being paid out in Supplementary Estimates 18/19. As at the end of December, our actual spend to date is £20.1m. Further spend to the end of March 2019 is expected to arise from staff, accommodation, IT, and legal costs, to meet the 2018-19 allocation.

Mobile Phones: Railways

Mr Stephen Hepburn: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what plans his Department has to improve the levels of mobile connectivity available to passengers along the rail corridor.

Margot James: Following a Call for Evidence in December 2017, DCMS is considering how best to improve the levels of mobile connectivity along key rail corridors. In 2018, Ofcom provided further advice to government on improving rail passenger access to data services. The report can be found at https://www.ofcom.org.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0024/123657/Rail-connectivity-advice-DCMS.pdf Ofcom are also collecting data on the signal strength available to rail passengers. We expect a report to be published this calendar year.

Mobile Phones: Railways

Mr Stephen Hepburn: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what progress has been made on establishing trials to provide mobile connectivity to passengers on the Trans-Pennine rail route as set out in Budget 2017.

Mr Stephen Hepburn: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport,  with reference to Budget 2017, how much of the £35 million allocated to establishing trials to provide mobile connectivity to passengers on the Trans-Pennine rail route has been spent.

Margot James: The Government’s Trans-Pennine Initiative (TPI) has three objectives: to trial delivery of high capacity fibre using the rail corridor, to trial provision of high speed connectivity to the train and to create a 5G testbed at Network Rail’s ‘Rail Innovation Development Centre’ (RIDC). At Budget 2017, the Government allocated £35 million to projects that will support improvement to rail passenger connectivity, including the TPI. We are in the process of concluding a review of the responses to the Call for Information on the design phase of the project, after which we will determine the next steps including expenditure. DCMS launched a Call for Information on the mobile connectivity aspects of the proposal, which closed in the summer of 2018. We are in the process of concluding our review of the responses received, after which we will determine the next steps.

Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport: Overseas Aid

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, how much his Department has spent on Official Development Assistance in each year since 2015.

Margot James: Statistics on ODA spending in each calendar year, including a breakdown by department, are published as part of the annual Statistics on International Development. These can be found at https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/statistics-on-international-development

Huawei

Jo Platt: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, on what dates he has held discussions with the National Cyber Security Centre on the role of Huawei in the UK's Critical National Infrastructure.

Margot James: DCMS Ministers & officials meet regularly with the National Cyber Security Centre on a range of cyber security topics, including in relation to UK telecoms networks and the Huawei Cyber Security Evaluation Centre.

Women and Equalities

Civil Partnerships: Heterosexuality

Vicky Foxcroft: To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, pursuant to the Answer of 23 October to Question 179255, what progress her Department has made on introducing legislative proposals on the extension of civil partnerships to heterosexual couples.

Victoria Atkins: The government remains committed to extending civil partnerships to opposite-sex couples, and is supporting the Civil Partnerships, Marriages and Deaths (Registration etc.) Private Members Bill. We are considering with the Bill’s sponsors how best this could be used to extend civil partnerships to opposite-sex couples.